Up To No Good
by chocolateinducedcoma
Summary: After being expelled from Salem's Magical Academy, Amanda Persephone Bennett gets shipped off to Hogwarts. There, she meets fellow pranksters, Fred and George Weasley. Chaos insues. Rated M for language.
1. Chapter 1

_A/n: An idea! _

**Up To No Good**

_**Introduction**_

"Amanda Bennett! Why did you blow up the girls' room? Again?" asked Headmistress Renalski.

"It was an accident!" I implored. "I was testing this new—"

Renalski cut me off. "That is UNACCEPTABLE! Accident or no accident."

"What's the punishment this time, Andrea?" I asked.

"You will refer to me as Headmistress Renalski or nothing! I will contact your parents, but you are in so much trouble!"

She left me on the chair before going into the next room to call my parents. Sheesh. I thought me being here enough gave me the right to call her by her first name. She never minded before.

My name is Amanda Persephone Bennett. I am fourteen years old and I attend Salem's Magical Academy in Salem, Massachusetts. Ever since my first year, I have been causing trouble. I love pulling pranks. No one really understands my need to cause trouble, so I don't really have any close friends. Everyone gets a laugh out of my pranks, though.

I have brown, straight but layered hair, down to my collarbone. I have hazel eyes. I don't look extraordinary. I'm actually pretty average. But, with magic, I look way different. I use Glamour Charms to have emerald green eyes with a smaller nose and awesome hair. I wish I was a Metamorphmagus; it would be much easier to change how I look. The Glamours fade in my sleep.

I like to wear skinny jeans and band tee's and fingerless gloves and black nail polish and eyeliner just to freak everyone out.

I'm a Muggle-born. My parents thought my letter was a joke until the Headmistress came to talk to us. It was pretty funny when they got my first owl home. Even funnier when they got my first disciplinary notice. I was practically on the floor when they first took the Floo. They both blew chunks. Twice.

Andrea...I mean, Headmistress Renalski...came back, my parents in tow. My parents looked so disappointed.

"Doe..." sighed my mother.

"Now, Mister and Missus Bennett, because of your daughter's prior history of destruction in the facility, I'm afraid Amanda Bennett has been expelled from Salem's Magical Academy."

My father glared at me and my mother sighed. I flipped out.

"What the _fuck_? I have locked the teachers inside their private quarters, accidentally, mind you. I was experimenting with a Locking Charm, and I messed it up. I explained this. I have converted the floor in the unoccupied west corridor to a swamp, experimenting with my potions ingredients. It got out of control; I already explained this. I got five months worth of detention for those. And now, you're expelling me for accidentally blowing up a bathroom? What the hell?"

"Miss Bennett, I would appreciate if you didn't take that tone of voice with me," scolded Andrea.

"Actually, because I've been expelled, I don't have to do anything you say, Andrea. I have a final prank ready for the school and I plan on carrying it through."

I left an hour later after covering all the walls with moss and added trees. Also, beware of the monkeys. I also added some invisible pits of quicksand that would take you down to the floor below. I think I saw Roger Roland get stuck in one of those, which made my day.

Once we got home, dad blew a gasket.

"I can't believe you got expelled! You went one step too far. Where will we send you now?"

"Honey, I heard about this school in England called Hogwarts. They have a really high tolerance policy..."

"We have to move to England?" my father roared.

"I don't want to," I said stubbornly. I didn't do anything wrong. It was an accident!

"No, I don't think we have to move. I'll contact your former Headmistress and see if she can provide us with a Floo address."

"Amanda Persephone, if you get expelled from this school, we are removing you from the magical community and snapping your wand," said my father.

I didn't say anything; I know when to shut up. I also didn't mention that they couldn't do that because the Ministry, American or British, monitors underage wizards. Especially Muggle-borns. I read up on the British Ministry and they are really racist against Muggle-borns. Their laws really favor pure-bloods. We scarcely use the word Mudblood. It's seen as social suicide to even say it out loud. I got my parents robes as a present one time, and they are used to the magical world. Maybe I can pass as a pure-blood.

* * *

_**Chapter One**_

It's September 1st of my fifth year, four o'clock in the fucking morning here, nine o'clock there. There as in England. The Headmistress talked to some people, so we're going to Floo to some family in England called the Weasley's. Well, I'm going to Floo. My parents are still mad at me. I don't even want to go. I guess it's better to at least learn something that might possibly be useful.

The Weasley's have seven kids! And only ONE girl! I feel so bad for her! The two oldest are out of Warthogs. Bill and Charlie I think. Percy is next. He's a stuck up bastard and if he says _anything_ snarky to me, I will cut him. Then it's the terrible twins, whom I will get along with swimmingly, Fred and George, as they will understand my pranking needs, as they are fellow pranksters. Then it's Ron. And Ginny. Poor girl. And they went to Egypt that summer. I heard Percy almost got locked in a tomb by Fred and George.

I heard Ron's best friend was Harry Potter. I think I heard of him once in passing. He defeated some Evil Dark Dude with some unknown magic when he was a baby. He lost his parents and now everyone looks at him like he's Jesus fucking Christ. I won't treat him any different. He should get used to it.

So, I had all my crap and I Floo-ed to the Burrow. I was greeted with masses of red hair.

So, I feel so bad for Mrs. Weasley because she gave birth to SEVEN kids. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley must really get it on while their kids are away.

"Hello, dear," said Mrs. Weasley with her British accent and warm smile. "Welcome to our home."

"Thank you so much, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, for letting me Floo here."

"It's no trouble, Amanda," said Mr. Weasley. "Come, we're about to take the Knight Bus."

I said okay, though I had no idea what the Knight Bus was. The twins came up to me, and I smirked. Awesome.

"Fred. George. How nice to meet you."

"I'm Fred. Nice to—" started Fred.

"—meet you—"

"—too," they finished.

"That is fucking awesome," I said.

"So," said George, slinging an arm around my shoulder after I had shouldered my Nightmare Before Christmas purse and he shouldered my duffel bag. Fred grabbed my trunk. "What is a little American doing all the way over in England?"

"Got expelled from Salem. Blew up one bathroom too much. I think they're still dealing with my 'going away present'." I tried to suppress my indignant pout. I didn't want to be here! All these Brits talk funny, and I miss the normalness of America.

They laughed and looked impressed. "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," said Fred.

There was a big purple bus at the edge of the property. Everyone was piling in. I handed the dude my sickles and plopped down between Fred and George.

"So, what year are you in?" I asked one of them.

"Fifth," they said in unison.

"Ditto."

"What?" asked...George I think.

"What?" I asked.

"What is...ditto?"

"Ditto means, 'me too'. You'll have to get used to my Americanisms."

"I'm pretty up to date with my Americanisms," bragged Ron from behind me.

I turned around and nodded my head to him. "Sup."

I laughed at his confused face. Everyone got on board and the bus started up.

This was the most annoying and fun ride ever! Everyone was flying around and fell on everyone else.

"This is so much fun!" I shouted. Ron looked at me angrily and Ginny looked green.

"You've never been on the Knight Bus?" asked Fred as he landed on Percy. Percy humphed and pushed him off.

"No. In America, it's much less fun. They have magical subways going everywhere."

"Subway?"

"You know, those underground trains that stop every two miles?"

"The tube, you mean."

"No. I mean the subway."

The bus stopped abruptly and I placed a quick wandless Cushioning Charm on the front of the bus as everyone went flying toward it.

"No magic outside of Hogwarts! You all know that!" scolded Molly as she picked herself off the floor.

"Our wands are in our trunks. You said to put them there so we wouldn't do magic outside of school," piped Ginny.

"Sorry, Mrs. Weasley," I said softly.

Mrs. Weasley turned to me and her eyes softened. "It's okay, dear. You didn't know. Just put your wand away until you get to Hogwarts."

"My wand is in my trunk, Mrs. Weasley."

She looked confused. "Then how did you do it?"

"Wandless magic. I'm sorry. In America, you can use simple wandless magic outside of school and—"

"Wandless? Oh, come now, dear. No one does wandless magic."

I sighed and levitated Ginny, who was still on the floor, to her feet.

Everyone looked I just kicked them in the balls. Mrs. Weasley tried to keep it moving to make my wandless magic less conspicuous, but no avail.

"They don't teach wandless here?" I asked Fred...or George.

"No. Everyone thought it was a myth."

"You've done accidental magic, right? So why would wandless be any different? You just try to control it."

The twins looked at each other. "Will you teach us?"

"Sure. But, for one small price."

"Of course. Name it, Mandy."

I winced. "Two, then. My name is not Mandy. It's Amanda or Doe. Second...how can I tell which one of you is Fred and which one of you is George?"

They looked at each other once before sighing.

"I'm Fred," said the one to her right. "That's George. That's just it. You have to look at us and just..._know_."

"Don't move," I said, and they stood rigidly. I looked at George, who was on my left, to Fred, who was on my right. Already, I could see Fred was a little taller. Less than half an inch, so barely, but still a little bit taller than his twin. George might have more freckles across his nose, but it wasn't that noticeable. I looked at Fred and he smirked at me. Butterflies jumped in my stomach. I looked at George to see the same smirk. No butterflies. I guess that's how I would know.

"Carry on, boys."

XXXXXXXXXX

So, right now, I'm staring at a wall that Mrs. Weasley is encouraging me to run through. I have to run at a wall and expect not to hit it?

"Come on, Doe," said George. "Close your eyes and pretend it's not even there."

I snorted. "Sure," I said sarcastically.

Suddenly, hands were covering my eyes and I felt my cart be pulled from under my fingers. I felt someone gently steer me towards the barrier before they pulled their hands off. Before I could look behind me, I was shoved.

I fell through the wall and onto a different station with a huge red train dubbed, _The Hogwarts Express_.

I turned around and came face to wheels with my cart as it hit me.

"Ow, ow, fuckity ow!" I cursed before casting a wandless _Episky_ at my nose.

I saw Fred come through next. His eyes widened as he saw the blood under my nose.

"Did we hit you with your trolley?" asked Fred. I nodded. He shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry."

"S'alright," I mumbled.

George came through had enough sense to look guilty. They took my trunk and loaded it onto the train for me.

"Come sit with us," Fred and George said in unison.

I followed them into a compartment. They said they're hellos before they started introducing me.

"This is Lee. Lee, Amanda. She's a transfer student from the States."

"Hullo," said Lee, giving me a small salute. He was dark skinned with dreads.

"And the rest pretty much make up the Quidditch team. Angelina, chaser," Fred indicated a pretty dark-skinned girl with braided hair, "Alicia, chaser," George gestured to a dark-skinned girl with long brown hair, "and Katie, chaser." Katie was a brunette with her hair pulled back into a high pony-tail. "Then, the most important players, the Beaters. Us." They bowed and I rolled my eyes. "Then, our fearless leader, and Keeper, Oliver Wood."

"Hullo," said Oliver with a Scottish accent. He was a cutie!

I sat at the end of the bench, next to Fred. He draped an arm over the back of the bench.

"So, what house do you think you'll be sorted into?" asked Lee.

"House?"

"There are four houses you could possibly be sorted into in Hogwarts," explained Alicia.

"Sorted?"

"You try on a magic talking hat," explained Oliver. "Some of the Houses hate each other, though."

"I would like the unbiased short version, please and thank you."

"First, the Gryffindors." There was a short cheer in the compartment, so I assumed they were all Gryffindors. "Brave and courageous."

"Those are synonyms."

"Hush. Then it's the Ravenclaws. Bloody brilliant. Hufflepuffs, loyal. Slytherins, cunning and tricky."

"Slytherin for me, then," I shrugged.

They all looked cross-eyed at me.

"What?"

"Dark wizards, in Slytherin," whispered Katie.

I snorted. "I'm sure that's just a stereotype. I'm sure if you guys," I pointed at the twins, "weren't die-hard Gryffindors and didn't believe in that old stereotype, you would be in Slytherin. I'm a prankster, that's where I'll go."

"Well, it could be beneficial to have an ickle spy with the snakes," said George absentmindedly.

"Is there a rule or something that Slytherins can't associate with the Gryffs?" I asked.

"No, but the snakes _hate_ us. Rivalries, yeah?"

"So I can still sit with you guys at meals, right?"

"Yeah, but the snakes will bite your head off," warned Oliver.

"So? I'm your 'ickle spy'. And, I think the snakes could lighten up a little. I'll make friends all around, so I might sit at Ravennerds, and Pufflelosers too. Not just the Gryffindorks or the Snaken-whatevers." I came up with those names on the spot. If I would be here for a while, might as well make myself laugh. I was really trying to enjoy it here. Really, I was.

"You're odd," said Angelina.

I was about to respond when the air got cold and the lights turned off. Everything got gloomy and cold and my heart pounded rapidly. The train stopped. Fred's arm fell off the back of the bench and around my shoulders. My heart was thumping so hard, I was surprised no one else could hear it. I put my arm around him shakily and looked up at him.

"What's happening?" I whispered.

"I dunno," he whispered back.

Suddenly, I starting feeling like shit. Like...nothing good would ever happen again. I started remembering when I got expelled from Salem, when I fell down the well when I was six and was stuck there for two days, when I got hit by a car, when my grandpa died.

Then, I saw a mangled black hand come to open the compartment, and I knew what it was. A dementor! I learned the Patronus Charm with a wand last year, but I didn't know if I could do it wandlessly.

The dementor opened the compartment and I stood on wobbly legs.

"Expecto Patronum!" I shouted, thinking of the first and last prank I pulled at Salem and Roger Roland falling down my sand trap. A vulture shot out of my hand and screeched at the dementor. The dementor glided away and my Patronus followed it.

That took a lot out of me and sat back down, shivering, sweating.

"Bloody hell, Doe, are you okay?" asked George.

"No. I've never done that wandlessly and I feel like the epitome of shit."

Angelina pulled out some chocolate and broke us all a piece. Fred was holding me as tight to him as possible as I shivered uncontrollably. When I ate the chocolate, warmth started encompassing me and my hands stopped shaking so much. I cast a few simple diagnostic charms and I just needed to rest to replenish my magical core.

"Better?" asked Fred softly, nibbling on his corner of chocolate.

"Yeah. Shit, that wasn't fun. I haven't faced a dementor in a year. Let alone do a Patronus wandlessly!"

"Yeah, about that," started Lee. "HOW DID YOU DO THAT?"

"Wandless is practiced in the States. I could teach you, it's not that hard. It's like accidental. I'm wondering why your government doesn't teach it. Maybe it's because it's hard to trace and some people don't have the magical capacity for it anyway. So...when's dinner?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Once we got off the train, I was met with some old lady with green robes, glasses at the very edge of her nose, with a pointy hat.

"Ms. Bennett, if you could follow me?"

"Who are you?" I asked, not moving.

She glowered. "I am Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration teacher, Professor McGonagall. Now, if you please, follow me."

I whistled softly. Someone rammed a stick up her butt.

I followed her, but not before a teary goodbye from the twins, claiming my life would be lost and McGonagall would eat me.

"Now, this is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," she started. "This will be your home for the duration of the school year. Depending on what House you are sorted into determines where exactly you will stay."

"Question," I interrupted. "If I'm sorted into Snaken-whatevers, can I still sit with the Pufflelosers and the Ravennerds during meals?" The pinched looked on her face made me bubble with glee and apprehension. Glee because my nicknames had bothered someone. I liked bothering adults; it lets me see what buttons I can and can't press. Really, it tells me a lot about them without ever asking. Apprehension because this lady was scary.

"Yes," she said between clenched teeth. "If you are sorted into _Slytherin, _you may still sit with the _Hufflepuffs_ and the _Ravenclaws_ at meal times. However, it is not a common practice."

"Awesome."

She continued to go over the House point system and all the classes I would take.

"Now, I know it is commonly practiced in America, but wandless magic is but a myth here. I would prefer that no one knows about your magic abilities until it is necessary."

"Well, the Weasley's know," I shrugged, not mentioning Lee and the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Well, I'd prefer if it stayed that way. The Ministry has no way of tracking wandless, so you will be able to magic outside of Hogwarts, but it is preferable if you didn't."

"Whatever," I said nonchalantly.

McGonagall pursed her lips. This teacher doesn't like disrespect. She led me in front of a group of eleven year-olds.

"You will be the first to be sorted, but until then, you will stay here."

"With the midgets? Come on, Professor!"

"Ms. Bennett, please refrain from calling the first years midgets! Be respectful within the walls of Hogwarts."

"Who names a school Warthogs anyway?"

"Ms. Bennett, if you please!"

I shut my mouth and grumbled. She definitely didn't like disrespect. I'm going to try toning down on that around her. The first years behind me were going on about having to slay to a Basilisk or something.

"For Merlin's sake, all you have to do is try on a magic talking hat!" I yelled, frustrated.

McGonagall came back and took everyone down in between two of the tables, where everyone was there, so everyone could stare at us. Awesome.

Of course, everyone is staring at me because, a) I'm older than everyone walking behind me and b) I'm the only one wearing black laced up boots to my knee, fingerless gloves, and black eye liner.

"Now, we have a transfer student from America. Amanda Bennett, please step forward to be sorted."

I walked up to the stool and they placed an old hat on my head.

_Ah, from America, eh? Not my first, of course. Now, where to put you...You are loyal, but Hufflepuff is not where to put you. You are brilliant, but Ravenclaw is not the right choice. A prankster, eh? Better be..._SLYTHERIN!

I smiled and walked off the platform. I glance at the Weasley twins, and they winked at me.

I walk down the table, looking for a place to sit. I find a stuck up blond kid. He's younger than me, by two years, at least. He's wedged between an ugly brunette and a large dope.

I smirk and walk behind the blonde dude and the ugly girl.

"Excuse me," I say, and step in between them and wedge myself into the seat.

"What's your problem?" asked the girl in a nasal voice. I want to cut her.

"I didn't know this seat was taken. I'm allowed to sit anywhere I want, aren't I?"

She looked affronted. "Do you even know who I am?"

"No, and nor do I care."

"I'm Pansy Parkinson," she smirked, as if I would immediately get up and apologize.

"And I'm Amanda Bennett. Nice to meet you. Now get lost." I saw the aghast look on her face and figured she didn't like not being the center of attention. Or having her looks insulted. Or me taking her boy-toy away.

I turned to the boy and recoiled. He must have at least four to five pounds of gel in his hair.

"Draco Malfoy," he smirked. Also, had no idea who he was.

"Don't know you."

"You should get to know me."

"If you were older, I would. But I'm no cradle-robber," I lied. He's obviously influential, so I don't want him to immediately know I hate his existence.

I see the doors to the Great Hall open, and I see McGonagall with Harry Potter and a bushy haired girl.

So, the Headmaster stands up. If he gained a hundred pounds, he would be Santa.

**"Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you come befuddled by our excellent feast. As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business. They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises—or even Invisibility Cloaks. It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors.**

**"On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." **Barely anyone clapped. **"As to our second new appointment...well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his placed will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties.**

**"Well, I think that's everything of importance. Now, let the feast begin!"**

The plates and cups filled with mountains of food. I took a sip of my drink and grimaced. Pumpkin juice. Why do all the Brits like this? I banished the contents of my drink by pouring it on the floor and summoned some Coke into my goblet. I served myself some fried chicken, some cheesy broccoli, some mashed potatoes, and some ketchup.

I looked up at the Gryff table to see Fred and George waving me over. I laughed and gave them a _really?_ look. They nodded.

I stood up with my plate and my cup.

"Where are you going?" hissed Ugly.

"Go away, Ugly. Bye, Malfoy."

I started walking towards the Gryffs, and everyone stopped talking and started at me.

At the Ravennerd table, I turned to look at everyone.

"Whatcha looking at?" I growled. "Eat your food and stop staring. Or take a picture; it lasts longer!" Hate being stared at!

I plopped myself in between the twins, clonked my plate down and proceeded to eat.

"So, how are the snakes?" asked Fred.

"Well, I met Ugly over there, and Dragon Malfoy. I'm playing nice with him so he doesn't destroy me. Pretty boring, actually. How are the Gryffs?"

"Good."

"Good, now shut your face so I can eat."

George laughed and Fred looked affronted.

"Hey, why is a snake sitting here?" asked some second year.

"Piss off." Hey, don't judge. He was rude first.

"So," started Oliver, "will you ever sit with the snakes?"

"Unless I find one minus the venom, nope."

"Do you play Quidditch?"

"Keeper," I responded. He beamed.

"Me too! Oh, are you going to try out of the Slytherin Quidditch team?"

"Nah, don't like them too much."

"Maybe...I'd have to check, but..."

"Oliver?" I questioned.

"I don't think it's an actual _rule_ that people from a certain house have to play for that house. You could be a universal reserve Keeper, so if any Keeper, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, or Gryffindor, get injured and can't play, you could. Maybe."

"Sweet. Who should I talk to?"

"You should talk to Snape, and I'll talk to McGonagall. Tomorrow, after lessons?"

"Snape?"

"You're Head of House. Up there, with the black hair, nose the size of Britain, and beady black eyes that stare daggers at everyone..."

I looked up and saw Snape immediately. He had shoulder length black hair that was in dire need of a cut. He had a large nose, but a normally large nose. He looked...normal. But the way Oliver spoke about him...it was like he was the most horrible person.

I didn't say anything but when Snape caught my eye, I smiled at him. He looked taken aback for a quick second before smiling briefly. It was more like a half-smile, but it was better than the scowl he was wearing now.

Santa stood and everyone shut up.

"Now that we have food in our bellies, it is now that time again to sing our Hogwarts School Song!"

He waved his wand and ribbons appeared and spelled out the words.

"_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

_Teach us something please,_

_Whether we be old and bald,_

_Or young with scabby knees._

_Our heads could do with filling_

_With interesting stuff,_

_For now they're bare and full of air,_

_Dead flies and bits of fluff._

_So teach us things worth knowing,_

_Bring back what we've forgot,_

_Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

_And learn until our brains all rot."_

Fred, George, and I all ended last, big smiles on our faces, to the tune of a funeral march.

"Now, off to bed with you! Prefects, please lead our new first years to their new commons. However, may our one and only transfer student please stay behind to speak with her Head of House. Thank you, and may your dreams take you to a world you can only dream of!"

Fred and George hugged me, before Angelina, Lee, Alicia, and Katie waved good-bye. Oliver hugged me before warning me to be careful with the "dungeon bat".

I walked towards Snape. Everyone seemed to hate him, so I might as well be nice and respectful. I shuddered. Only with him.

"Professor," I said politely, bowing my head.

"Ms. Bennett," he greeted. "Follow me."

I did so. We went down a secluded corridor and he started asking me questions.

"Are your parents wizards?"

"No, I'm a Muggle-born." When he paused, I continued. "They are, however, aware of the magical world and own wizard robes. I'm aware of how prejudice the Ministry is against Muggle-borns, so I will pretend I'm a pure-blood with parents who enjoy living as Muggles."

"Good. You are the first openly Muggle-born student in Slytherin, so I must caution you. Many people in this house are prejudice bigots who support the Dark Lord. I'm sure you've heard of him." I nodded. "There are a few good ones, however. I suggest speaking with Taylor Zabini. She is in your year, so in your dormitory. She will show no prejudice to you."

I nodded. "Thank you, sir."

"Now, about discipline. While you are my student, I will not take points. However, if you do something, whether it is disrespect, or exploding a lavatory, you will wish I take points. You will have a detention with me, dissecting and doing inventory of the most disgusting potion ingredients I can lay my hands on. If another teacher gives you a detention, you will have an additional detention with me. If a teacher takes points, you will have a detention with me.

"Your grades are a different story. If your grades fall below an Acceptable level, you will be assigned a tutor from your year that is at the top of the class. If you do not pull your grades up, it will result in the loss of privileges, like visits to the Hogsmeade village. Your parents have already owled me your form."

We stopped at a wall.

"This is the entrance to the Slytherin common room. The castle is confusing. The staircases move, the walls speak. Why there is no map yet, I don't know, because all first years are lost and late every day the first month. People will help you.

"The password is _purity_."

The wall slid open to reveal a living area with a green hue. Green lamps littered the dungeon-like room with green couches. Dark wood floors were polished and spot free. The atmosphere was cold.

"This is your common area. This is where you will stay after curfew, which is eleven. On this bulletin board," he pointed, "will be the password each month. Forget it, and it will be the last time; sleeping out here is no fun. You can, however, find me either in my classroom, or behind the door at the end of my classroom, my private quarters. If you knock, and I do not answer, do not enter.

"Other things may be posted up there; the time of study sessions, Quidditch practices—"

"Oh, yes, sorry, I wanted to talk to you about that. If I'm correct, all the teams already have Keepers." Snape nodded. "I would like to be a universal reserve Keeper. Perhaps we can starts a universal reserve team, for injured players. No matter what House is injured, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, a Slytherin or a Gryffindor, any person can play for whatever house. Just for funsies."

Snape pursed his lips. "Perhaps, Ms. Bennett. I will owl you if and when the decision is made. Now, to bed."

"Professor, if I may, I have some serious jet lag. It's six o'clock at night to me, not eleven. Is there something I can take...?"

"Yes, wait a second," he said.

He held up his hand and closed his eyes. With a pop, a potion vial appeared in his hand.

"You can do wandless, too?" I whispered, shocked. I summoned the vial wandlessly into my hands. I drank it quickly.

"Yes. Do not advertise this, for it will make you a target. Only use it in great need."

"I'm sorry, Professor, but I used it today in front of some friends of mine. The dementor was on the train, and I used the Patronus wandlessly. It was the first time I had done it without a wand, so thank Merlin that Angelina had some chocolate or I would have been in some serious business."

The Professor scowled. "That was a serious risk, Ms. Bennett. Against a dementor is understandable, but a Patronus is difficult enough, with or without a wand. Never try a new spell wandlessly without practicing it in a controlled environment. If there is a new spell you would like to work on, let me know."

"Thank you, sir. Where is my dorm?"

"Up those stairs on the right. Pleasant dreams, Ms. Bennett."

"Amanda."

"If you wish, Amanda."

"Sleep tight, Professor."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hi, I'm Amanda," I said softly when I arrived in my room. I shared it with three other girls.

"Hullo," said said a short girl with very short dark hair. "I'm Taylor Zabini. Pleased to meet you, Amanda."

"You too," I said kindly.

"Hi, I'm Josie," said a girl with long black hair.

"Sup."

She didn't even look up again.

"Alison Nott is always out pass curfew. She'll be here later."

"Okay. Do you mind if use the bathroom?"

"What?"

"The _loo_."

"Why are you asking? Just go."

I went in with my wand and removed my make-up. I picked at my hair and decided I wanted to change the color.

"Taylor, pick a color!"

"I don't know, red!"

"Ginger red, or red red?"

"Red red! Gryffindor red."

Red it is. I softly murmured the spell I had come to love and sure enough, my hair was an awesome red.

I walked out and thanked Taylor. She looked up and gasped.

"That's wicked! How did you manage that?"

"My natural hair color is brown, so I got bored. Glamours are my friend."

"Wicked brilliant!"

"Indubitably."

I found my bed, which wasn't hard; it had my truck at the foot, and my duffel on it. I pulled out my pyjamas and changed quickly.

As I lay under my covers, dreams starting to whisk me away, I thought, _This is the most eventful day since I've been expelled. I'm gonna love it here_.

* * *

_A/n: I know a lot of information went into this, but this was just introducing Amanda and her first day at Hogwarts. So...BLAH. Well, I hope you like it. _

_And no, she is not coming on to Snape. He will become an important part of her life...and so will the Twins, and Taylor, and other people, but I can't tell you! So you're going to have to read._

_I'm currently going un-Beta'd so if you find something, review and tell me, or just say, "Hey, you need a Beta? HERE I AM! PICK ME!"_

_Oh, speaking of reviewing, those are nice. I enjoy those. They tell me what my readers think, not just my older sister and twin brother. They're kinda mean and my sister is a Harry Potter freak, so she was going on about how Ron never rode the Knight Bus until book 5. Well, I'm the author, Malorie! This is my Fan FICTION, and here, I'm God. So RAWR._

_I apologize to all of you who actually read this. I feel pitiful._

_Anyway, about those reviews...I'm hungry. For something that starts with Re and ends with views. _

_Sorry, I've been rambling long enough. So review. _

_Pleasant dreams/day, from wherever you are,_

_Meg (the most awesomest person in the city of...Flargenfraggle. You didn't think I'd actually tell you, did you?)_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/n: Enjoy!_

**Up To No Good**  
_Chapter Two_

So, I woke up the next morning to the door creaking shut. I know, you guys are probably like, "the door closing? Really?" Well, yeah. I'm the lightest sleeper and the littlest sounds wake me up. I silenced the beds of my comrades, but someone was getting out, or coming in.

After reapplying my Glamours, I threw open my curtains to see some girl, who I assumed to be Alison Nott, tip-toeing to her bed.

"What time is it?" I asked groggily.

She froze. "Three," she whispered.

"Wow. You're really late. Well, good night," I yawned, shutting the curtains behind me.

I awoke again at around six. Even in the States, I couldn't sleep past six or seven. I noticed no one else was up, so I decided to take a shower and all that jazz.

First of all, I didn't know how to work the shower. I ended up getting so frustrated that I charmed the water to be hot, because I couldn't tell how to do it.

Second of all, I left my wand on my bed, so I couldn't use a Drying Charm. Well, I could, wandlessly, but I promised I wouldn't. Plus, wandless took a lot more energy than regular and I didn't want to start the day feeling drained. And, looking at my dorm-mates, I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate to see me drip water all over the floor. So, I just opened the door a bit and summoned my wand wandlessly. I clanked loudly against the door, but I hoped that my Silencing Charms held for the night.

Applying make-up the Muggle way is a lot easier than the magical way. If it's your first time, you're clumsy putting it on both ways. However, it's so much easier to get your desired appearance the Muggle way. The magical way, they have pre-set incantations for specific eyeliners and shadows. You can't mix and match. You'd have to alter the spell, and if you get it wrong, you could get stuck with a clown face for a week.

So, before I even did that, I had to see what I would wear. At Salem, there wasn't a dress code, so you could wear anything you wanted, as long as it wasn't "indecent." Here, I have to wear black robes, a white button down with a tie, and a skirt. A SKIRT. That wasn't going to fly with me. They would have to deal with my skinny jeans. It's derogatory to force girls to wear skirts and not provide them with a different option. I know boys are gross, so I know boys will try and flip up your skirt. NO SKIRTS.

I decided to alter my uniform a tad. I made sure I wasn't free perioding the rules because I didn't want to get in trouble the first day. Maybe the second, but not the first. They didn't say we couldn't wear a shirt under the button-down, so I decided to wear a _Lethargy_ tee-shirt underneath it and leave the blouse unbuttoned. The skirt wasn't actually included in the dress code. It never actually said I had to wear a skirt. I was ecstatic when I saw that! Black skinny jeans it is. The shoe thing was tricky. The shoes had to be black, but it never specified that I had to wear those god awful Mary Janes. So, I just took out my black converse. I put everything on and went back into the bathroom to put my make up on.

Make-up would be easier now. A swipe of purple on my eyelids brought out the hint of purple in my tee-shirt. I put some black eyeliner on my bottom lash line and a semi-thick line on my upper lash line. I put a little blusher on my cheeks, and some clear gloss on my lips.

So, by the time I actually found the Great Hall, it was seven thirty, and I was tired, cranky, and in dire need of coffee. I sat down at my house table and served myself some scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes. I looked around the table and found the maple syrup for my sausage and pancakes, but not the ketchup for my eggs. I was about to freak out when I saw it at a different House table. I just got up and took it from them, mixing it with my eggs before putting it back. I was glad they had some hazelnut coffee; I thought all these crazy English people drank tea.

I felt two people sit on either side of me, and knew it was the Twins. Yes, with a capital T.

"Don't say anything until I've had some coffee," I grumbled. I took a sip, grimaced because of the heat and muttered a mild Cooling Charm, before gulping half of it down. "Now, you can talk."

"So, how was Snapey? We didn't think we'd see you this morning," said the Twin to my left. I glance briefly and knew it was George.

"Fine, he just told me the law of the land stuff."

"Did he say why he never takes points?" asked George.

"Yeah, he gives us nasty detentions; dissecting frog intestines, and stuff like that."

"Ew. I'd rather he take points."

Fred had stolen my fork and poked my eggs and sausage. "What did you do to the poor food?" he asked.

"Ketchup in the eggs, maple syrup on my sausage. Why?"

"It looks disgusting!"

"Hey, don't knock it 'til you've tried it." I stole my fork back and shoveled some eggs and bacon in my mouth before cutting up my pancake, spearing some sausage and eggs along with it, and taking a bite.

"You're gross."

"I know."

I saw more Slytherins heading towards the table. Yes, I'm calling them Slytherins because I'm in that house now, and I would just be making fun of myself.

"So," I whispered, "when are we doing our first prank?"

Fred smirked and threw an arm over my shoulders. "Normally we do our start of term prank the first week. We'll find you later to talk about it."

I groaned. "Ugh, I'm going to get so lost today!"

Fred and George looked at each other before looking back at me.

"Maybe not," said Fred.

"After you—" said George.

"—get your timetable—"

"—come with us—"

"—and we might have something that will help."

"Okay. You should go back to your table. Ollie is glaring at you."

The Twins left and I finished my food. Snape handed out our schedules and I looked at mine. Today and Wednesday I had double Potions, double Transfiguration, a free period, lunch, another free period, Astronomy, and Ancient Runes. Tomorrow and Thursday I would have Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, Herbology, lunch, and midnight Astronomy lessons. No classes on Fridays for me. I glanced up at the Gryffindor table and Fred and George were getting up. I got up too and followed them out.

"So, what's so important?" I asked.

"This," and Fred took out a blank piece of parchment paper. I looked at it and looked back up at the Twins.

"Thanks," I said, confused. "What do I do with it?"

"Tap it with your wand and say, 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.'"

I did and I saw ink spidering onto the map. "Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs are proud to present, The Maurader's Map," I read out loud. I opened it and it was a map of the school.

"Thank you so much!" I exclaimed. "I could just kiss you!"

"Now, here's the catch…we need it back," said the Twins.

"I could just duplicate it," I shrugged. "Might not be exactly the same if I don't know what charms were put on it, but it'll be pretty close. It might mix up the names."

I took out my wand and conjured a blank piece of parchment before I started focusing my magic on the Map. I could practically feel the magic in the map. I could tell what some of the spells on it were, but not all of them. I made sure I knew all the important ones, like the one that told you who the person was, all the passwords, the location and tracking spells, and the animation spells.

"_Effringo_," I whispered. The blank parchment vibrated before the ink spidered onto it. I looked at the map closely and saw a little _Amanda P. Bennett_ dot next to a _George F. Weasley_ and a _Fred G. Weasley_ dot. I looked at the original map and only saw a _A. Bennett_ dot with a _G. Weasley_ and a _F. Weasley_ dot.

"Huh. The new map has the full name with a middle initial," I pondered. "I didn't know you guys had middle names with your twin's first initial."

"After Mum's brothers, Gideon and Fabian," said George.

"Wicked!" exclaimed Fred, examining both maps. You can barely see a difference!"

"It'll probably wear off in a couple weeks to a couple months, depending," I said. "I'm not that good at Charms or Transfiguration. Whoever made this was really good a both. Where did you get this?"

"Nicked it from Filch's office our first year. Took us nearly a fortnight to figure out the passwords," said Fred proudly.

I chuckled and shook my head. "Your poor mother never had a chance with you two, did she?"

"Nope, not one," they both said in unison.

"So, about that prank..." I started.

"Right, so normally we prank the Slytherins. A lot. But, since you're now a Slytherin..."

"No. If we prank the Slytherins, we have to prank me, too. If I get a detention with another teacher, I get one with Snape. So, if I get a weeks detention, I get another with Snape. So, I can't be suspected. But, I will help with the pranks."

"Okay then, problem solved."

"Wait," I stopped George from continuing to speak. "Have you ever signed your pranks?"

"No, people always know it's us," said Fred with a smirk.

"You should start, so then you could deny the first couple of pranks by pranking yourselves too, but then they'll figure out it's you two plus one, just don't give me away. We need a name for ourselves. And nicknames. Like those people who made the Map."

"Well, the Mauraders' nicknames came from their favorite animals, or their Patronus' or something. Names like Prongs and Padfoot, it's pretty easy to guess. Padded feet? A dog, probably. Prongs? Antlers, maybe. A stag? Wormtail could be a mouse or a gerbil or something. And Moony, probably a wolf," said George smartly. Wow. That was the longest thing he said without his brother finishing his thoughts.

"What kind of nicknames do you give for a _vulture_?" I asked.

They didn't respond.

"Screech...y?" said George slowly.

I laughed. "Screechy. Really. Nothing cool or awesome? A noise that people hate? Really George? How about I sleep on it and look it up, and see what I come up with, okay? Now, what are your Patronus'?"

George blushed. "I'm an orangutang."

I giggled. "A name for an orangutang...well, they have really long arms, right? Stretchy?" I joked.

"Yeah, yeah. That's payback for Screechy. Look it up for me, too?" pleaded George. "And Fred's," he added quickly.

"Okay. What's yours then, Fred?" I turned to him and the butterflies returned.

"I'm a lemur."

"Okay, a monkey, a vulture, and a lemur. Got it. I'll look it up in the library today during my free periods."

"Let us see your timetable," the Twins said in unison.

"My what?"

"The parchment with your classes on it," they elaborated.

"My schedule? Here," I handed it to them.

They read it quickly. "We have Potions, Herbology, Defense, Charms, and all your free periods with you, which is excellent in the ways of pranking," they said. "Potions first thing, though, bad luck, that is."

"If you sit with me, we'll be okay," I shrugged.

We hurried to the Potions lab and made it just in time. Everyone had sat with their friends so it left a table of three in the very back.

I heard a door slam and I almost fell out of my seat. Snape came in and immediately started lecturing. I payed close attention but used a dictation quill for my notes. I saw Fred and George writing each other notes so I nudged them both.

"This is why he hates you," I hissed.

"He's always hated the Gryffs," shrugged George.

"Now, based on my lecture, you should all be able to concoct a Draught of Peace. Remember the dire consequences of a botched potion. Please collect your ingredients now. I expect a completed potion on my desk at the end of class. Begin!" said Snape ominously.

Fred and George looked at each other and gulped. I rolled my eyes.

"I'll get the ingredients, look over my notes in the meantime," I said.

I quickly got the the store room and got the syrup of hellebore, the powdered moonstone and the other ingredients. When I got back to the Twins, they had the cauldron set up and ready to go.

"Okay, before we start, remember that putting more than the necessary amount of ingredients can make the drinker go into a coma. So, it's better to put a little less if not exactly the amount of ingredients. Got it?" They nodded. "Okay then, did you put the water in? Good, it's boiling already. Four tablespoons of the syrup, stir counter clockwise four times and clockwise six times..."

By the end of the class, we had a Draught of Peace, milky white, like it was supposed to be, with the silvery vapor drifting up. Fred and George high-fived and I giggled.

"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, and Ms. Bennett, do you have something to share with the rest of the class?"

"No, sir," I spoke up quickly before the Twins had a chance to answer, "we just finished a successful Draught of Peace."

Snape glared at our cauldron, but could not say anything bad, so he reluctantly said, "Ten points to each of you. Ms. Bennett, please stay after class."

Class finished quickly. The Twins said they'd wait for me outside.

I approached Snape's desk and he looked up at me.

"Ms. Bennett, you are more than adept at Potions. Next time, please let the insufferable twins do their own work."

"Sir, all I did was read the directions. If you'd rather, I can make-up the potion to prove that I am, in fact, adequate in Potions."

He raised an eyebrow. "You will return here during your lunch period to create this potion."

I saluted. "Yessir." I waited until he dismissed me before joining the Twins outside.

They walked with me to Transfiguration, apologizing for doing all the work and not letting me help. I shrugged; it didn't really matter. I would make it up, and all would be swell. They said they'd skip History of Magic to think up of an awesome, school-wide prank. I rolled my eyes and strolled into McGonagall's class, sitting in the back. I pulled out a piece of parchment and a pencil, not a stupid quill. Hate those shitty things. They get ink everywhere. I started to sketch a tree as everyone poured in. I felt someone sit next to me, but I didn't look up.

"Hello," said someone. I looked up. It was Josie from my dorm. I nodded and went back to my doodle. I looked up at McGonagall's desk, but she wasn't there. A cat, instead, stood perched rigidly on her desk.

"The Professor has a cat?" I asked Josie. She giggled.

"I forgot you didn't know. She did this first day, first year, and every day since. She's an Animagus. I suppose it's more comfortable or something. It scared the willies out of us the first time we saw it."

Transfiguration was one big review of the past four years, emphasizing that this was O.W.L.s year and we would be getting career advice later this year. I started to think about what I wanted to do with my life. Nothing really interested me. I'm not even a citizen of England so I don't think I can be a part of the Ministry of Magic. The Magical Democracy of the United States doesn't interest me. I love kids, but I definitely don't have the patience for teaching. My favorite subject in school is definitely Potions. It's so fascinating to see how combining certain things will either result in either an explosion or a love potion. The properties of boomslang skin and dung beetle juice added just right could create a mild sleeping draft for cranky children, but added out of proportion could create the deadliest poison. I would love to be a Potions Mistress. Perhaps not a conventional, boring one.

I also love Charms. I love modifying the normal charms I use into more useful ones. I love experimenting with both Charms and Potions, but Potions is definitely my favorite. If I had to choose, I would choose Potions. I would love to work with both.

Before I knew it, Transfiguration was over and I headed towards the library to start looking up our nicknames. I didn't even know where to start. The Marauders nicknames themselves after characteristics of their Patronus' or whatever. But, what kind of names can you get from a lemur, a vulture, and a monkey? Stripes, for the striped lemur tail? Talon, for the the vulture's feet? Swings, for the monkey who swings from the treetops? Those names didn't sound very cool, or original. I wandered to the Language section and pulled out several English to foreign language dictionaries. Icelandic, German, French, Italian, Swedish, and Spanish. I took out some parchment and looked through the dictionaries, writing down each animal, and crossing out the ones that looked ridiculous or too like their English counterparts. Finally, the most wonderful nicknames were found. Geier, pronounced Gaya, for me. Apa for George, and Maki for Fred. Mine was German, George's was Swedish, and Fred's was French. While looking through the dictionaries, I also found the perfect nickname for out group. Tori is Italian for prank or joke. Toris. The Toris. I felt incredibly awesome.

"So, whatcha doing?" I heard behind me.

I jumped a foot in the air. "Shit, George, you scared me!"

"I'm Fred." I looked up.

"No, you're George."

"Can't get anything past her, o' brother of mine," said George.

"No, we can't. So, what are you doing?" asked Fred.

"I found the most perfect names for us."

"That's fantastic—"

"—so tell us, then!" they said, alternating their sentences. I rolled my eyes.

"For me," I started, "Gaya, German for vulture."

"Much better than Screechy, wouldn't you agree, George?"

"Too right. Much better. Do you have something better than Stretchy for me, then?"

"For you, Apa, Swedish for monkey."

"Much better than Stretchy," nodded George with a smile.

"For you, Fred, Maki, French for lemur."

"Perfect. You are the greatest, Doe."

"I haven't finished, have I?" I demanded, scowling at Fred for interrupting me.

"Then, please, continue. What amazing name have you found for us?" Fred said sardonically.

"Well, it's Italian for prank. If we add an 's' to it, it still sounds singular, so no one will think it's more than one person. We will prank everyone, including ourselves, so no one suspects us."

"What is it, then?" George demanded.

"The Toris."

I was hugged with murmurs of thanks.

"We also need a codeword for prank so that no one knows we're the ones doing them. Not something like, 'Let's go finish our homework' because everyone knows you two would never say that in public," I explained.

"How about, 'Let's go visit the kitchens.' Then, we could discuss our plans in the kitchens and actually eat, too," decided George.

I shrugged. "Let's go visit the kitchens, then. I need to eat before lunch because I'm making up Snape's potion."

I walked silently into the Potions classroom and took a seat in the middle of the room. I pulled out my book to reread the directions. I added half a cauldron full of water and set it to boil before grabbing the ingredients I needed from the Professor's stock.

"Ms. Bennett," I heard from up front. I looked up the see the Professor. He wasn't there a minute ago.

"Yes, sir?"

"May I ask what you're doing?"

"Remaking my Draught of Peace, sir."

"That's not what I meant. What are you doing with the Sopophorous bean?"

"Slicing it thinly to release the juices, sir."

"Crushing it with the silver of the knife will release more juices," he said snidely. I continued to slice the bean.

"Yes, sir, I know. Professor Zane at Salem taught it to us third year. However, this is the Draught of Peace. If I add too much of any ingredient, it could make the drinker go into a coma."

He nodded. "Ten points to Slytherin. Now, let's say someone was poisoned with...Basilisk venom." I raised an eyebrow. "How would you stabilize the victim before escorting him or her to St. Mungo's for further treatment?"

"A bezoar, sir. And it wouldn't be necessary to escort the victim to St. Mungo's. A simple Antibiotic Potion with a few drops of phoenix tears should help."

"And where would you get the phoenix tears?"

"Dumbledore has one. Saw it when I met with him before coming here. Magical animals are able to understand the human language. That's how owls bred in the magical world understand where to go."

Snape nodded and let me finish my potion. I carefully dipped a vial in the cauldron, stoppered it, and placed it on his desk before cleaning my working station. I sat quietly at my seat and waited for him to dismiss me.

"Ms. Bennett, what would you like to do once you leave Hogwarts?" asked Snape quietly.

"I want to be a Potions Mistress, sir."

He nodded and waved a hand to dismiss me.

* * *

"Gaya," hissed George.

"What?" I whispered back. We were in the library, and I was reading up on my Ancient Runes text.

"When are you going to teach us wandless?"

I looked around. "Now, I guess." I looked at Fred and George before pushing an Astronomy text into the middle of the table. "First things first. Pronunciation. It's extremely important for verbal and nonverbal spells."

"How can you pronounce things wrong in nonverbal spells?" asked Fred.

"You still have to say the spell in your head, stupid."

"Right. Sorry."

"Let's start with the most useful and rudimentary Charms spell. Levitation. Say the incantation."

"_Wingardium Leviosa_," they said in unison.

"Good. At least you paid attention in first year Charms. Next step: visualization. Close your eyes and imagine your magical core. Focus on finding where your magic is as, like, a well of golden magic-y stuff. Do you see it?" They both murmured in the affirmative. "Now, does your mom have a fancy tea set that she takes out for company?" They nodded. "Now take one of those tea cups and fill it with the gold magic from the well. Do you see it?" I asked. They nodded again. "Now this is the hard part. You have to focus your magic into a narrow tube. The visualization for this is hard. I used a pen to focus my magic. Maybe, a quill. Imagine dipping your quill into the cup and it filling with magic. Do you have it?" They didn't move, so I could tell they were concentrating. "Will pick back up on this tonight." They opened their eyes and tried to argue, but I held up a hand. "This is hard stuff, you guys. You need to focus your magic, and not many wizards can do that. During your free time, try to visualize the well and the tea cup with the quill. You guys really need to get this down for it to work. It took me most of second year to decide what I could use to visualize the tube. I couldn't see the tube in my head, so I picked a different object. A quill might be better for you, but if you can't see it in your head, it won't work. If you can't see the quill, pick a different object. I have to go to Ancient Runes. I'll see you at dinner?" They nodded and I headed off.

I sat with Taylor in Ancient Runes. I definitely want to take the O.W.L. in it. You used Ancient Runes to create powerful protection wards. I took careful notes in Ancient Runes using my modified dictation quill. Yes, I modified the spell. I linked the quill to my ears, so it writes down what I hear, but only the important points, according the class, and my decisions on what's important to retain. Took me all of third year, the following summer, and a bit of fourth year to work out the calculations before finally testing it. I love math. Math is great. It helps with almost everything.

Anyway. Dinner. Right.

I was going to sit with my House, but decided against it and immediately found a place next to Oliver.

"Ollie!" I said before hugging him. I ignored the grimace because of the pet name.

"Mandy," he mimicked. I made a face. He laughed. I punched him in the arm. He shut up.

"So what's new, Ollie?"

"Nothing. Quidditch is starting up again soon, and this is my last year, so I really want to win the House Cup. I don't want to let my House down."

"Oh, hey, about that. Are you friendly with a lot of people in other Houses?" I asked.

"A fair few in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Why?"

"Could you spread the word about a universal reserve team? I was thinking we could meet up...this Saturday? At the pitch at...two-ish? All who want to try out and can fly a broom are able. Do you know the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Captains, because they could help be the judges. And you too, Ollie. I'll talk to Flint tonight, maybe."

"Okay, spread the word about the universal reserve team, talk to Cedric and Roger, meeting on Saturday at two. Got it. Anything else?"

"Pass the biscuits?"

Fred and George joined us soon, and drove my attention to the prank we;d play on Thursday. It was only Monday, so we'd have time.

"Gaya, we've done that," whispered George.

"We've never repeated a prank," agreed Fred.

"Yeah, Fred and George have never repeated a prank. The Toris have never pulled pranks on this school."

They smiled.

"Where have you been all my life?" asked Fred wistfully. I laughed.

"Stop being such a drama queen. Have you been working on your visualization?" They grimaced.

"It's bloody difficult. I can't see the quill in my head," said Fred frustratedly. George nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry about it. If you can't see the quill, try to find something in a narrow tube shape that you _can_ see clearly. Once you can visualize that, we can actually use the magic. But, I want you guess to promise me something. Pinky swear." They looked confused. "Swear you won't try to use wandless without me. It could be dangerous. Lock pinkies with me."

"We promise," they said in unison and locked pinkies with me. "Why are we doing this?"

"It's the Muggle version of an Unbreakable Vow," I explained. "Break the promise and I get to break your pinkies." They nodded.

"So where are you off to?" asked George.

"I have to find Flint. Later."

I walked towards the Slytherin table as everyone left the Hall to go to their dorms.

"Hey, Flint. Flint! FLINT!" I said, chasing after him. He stopped short and turned to look at me. I almost flinched. He looked like a cannibal.

"What, Bennett?" he snarled.

"I'm starting a universal reserve team. Be at the pitch on Saturday at two to help the others judge the players. There has to be one person at least from each House and majority vote rules. You in?" He looked skeptical. "Look, you're going to get some of the best players from other houses to play for Slytherin. Try not to scare them too much if you want them to play for us, okay? I know you're a cuddly bear once someone gets to know you. Just don't be super scary and be nice, please?"

He sighed. "Fine. I'll be there. Just make sure the other captains behave, too. Just because I'm Slytherin, doesn't mean I'm going to be a Death Eater."

"A what now?"

"A follower of You-Know-Who. And just to let you know, most people don't say his name because before he fell the last time, he was trying to create a taboo on it. So just pass it onto your little Gryffinnerd friends, okay?"

"Thanks, Marcus. See you on Saturday."

He grunted and walked away.

I opened my map and raced up the stairs to the seventh floor where I saw Fred and George enter the Gryffindor commons. The Obese Man-lady wouldn't let me in. So, I saw a small Gyrffindor and gently asked her to tell Fred and George Weasley that Doe was outside waiting for them. She looked terrified and ran into the common room after squeaking out the password. Moments later, the Twins came out.

"What did you do to the poor firstie, Doe?" asked...George. I was sure it was George.

"Nothing! She's just terrified of me! I asked her all sweet and un-Slytherin like, and she just ran off like I just told her I would murder her mother and make her watch! By the way, let me in. I wanna see the Gyff commons."

The spoke the password and the Obese Man-lady looked down her nose at me, but let me in.

Before walking in, I shed my Slytherin tie and robe so I wouldn't totally freak everyone out. Because my hair was blonde yesterday, maybe they wouldn't notice.

When I entered, everyone was in their own little world and didn't notice me. I saw Ron, a bushy-haired girl, and a dark haired boy sitting by the window doing their work. They kept glancing up at the window.

"Who are your brother's friends?" I asked quietly.

"Hermione Granger and Harry Potter," said George.

I decided to see what was wrong and pulled up a chair.

"Hey, Ron," I said with a smile.

"Hullo, Amanda," he said dully, glancing in my direction before looking out the window again.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked.

He sighed and didn't answer.

"Do you know Hagrid?" asked Hermione.

"Big guy, big beard, heavy accent?" I asked.

She nodded. "We had a lesson about Hippogriffs today and Malfoy insulted it." I grimaced. "Buckbeak attacked him, and he's going on and on about the pain when it's only a scratch. His father is really influential and we think Buckbeak might not be around much longer."

"How dumb is that kid?" I asked.

"Pretty dumb," said Harry glumly.

"Hey, cheer up," I said. "If you guys wanna see something funny tomorrow, I suggest you all shower right now." I smirked and waved before joining Fred and George on the couch.

"So, when do we—" said...Fred.

"—wanna do this?" finished George.

"Well, you guys know about guys."

"Really, mate?"

"I couldn't tell."

"Shut the hell up and listen. Do the guys share shampoo and where do they keep it?"

"Most do," said Fred. My heart fluttered again and I held back a blush.

"Only the sissy ones have their own, but they all keep them in the loo. Why?" asked George.

"So you know where all the shampoo is. Duh. All the girls have their own, but they're kept in the bathroom. The problem will be getting into the dorms from the other houses."

"We've been in Ravenclaw, and all you have to do is answer a riddle. We know where the 'Puffs live, but the map doesn't give us the password since it changes all the time. But, we do know Cedric Diggory, and he loves a good prank. As long as we tell him not to say anything, he'll be okay with it."

"If he's chill, we should start now with the Disillusionment Charms," I said before walking into a corner and wandlessly charmed myself. I saw the Twins follow me.

"What does 'chill' mean?" whispered Fred. I rolled my eyes.

"It means 'cool'. Meet outside in ten."

* * *

I met the Twins first thing and put tight Glamours around their heads. I added Glamours around mine.

The Twins were now supporting blonde mohawks. I had really short pixie style hair in electric blue. I couldn't wait to see everyone else.

Draco Malfoy was bald with green eyebrows. Ugly was also bald. The students were freaking out and the teachers didn't look happy. Dumbledore was the only exception. He looked very amused as he smoothed his long, straight brown hair. His beard was gone, and his hand kept stroking his smooth chin.

I smirked at the large banner across the Great Hall.

"_**Enjoy your gift. Love, Toris."**_

_A/n: Read and review. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Up To No Good**

_Chapter Three_

Months melted together as I enjoyed my days in England. Before I knew it, it got bitingly cold and snowy. The pranks the Toris kept pulling became more and more elaborate. They stopped blaming Fred and George because they also kept getting pranked.

Professor Snape and I had a weird working relationship. He would say one thing, but do something completely different. When I asked him if I could apprentice under him, he smirked and said, very nastily, that he'd never had an apprentice, which I took to mean as a no. But the next day after Potions, he told me to be in the classroom at eight for out first lesson. I almost asked him if he was serious, but he gave me The Look. The look that clearly says, "if you don't get out of here in three seconds, I'll change my mind."

Ever since then, he's been relatively less sarcastic and snarky with me. And I've learned so much already, just apprenticing under him for five weeks. When I changed my hair from electric blue to auburn, he took a double-take. He seemed to be nicer to me when my hair was like that.

I was currently looking at my copy of the Map, which held out much longer than I thought it would. I was seeing if anyone was around and if Fred and George were safely back in their dorms. I saw them enter their common room, and smiled. I also glanced over the third year dorm and saw that Harry and Ron were safely inside their dorms. I hadn't gotten that close to Ron or Harry, but I secretly watched over them.

I saw a name I had never seen before, moving around the dorm very quickly.

_Peter E. Pettigrew._

I had never heard the name before. Now, I just had to know. I would ask Fred and George, but they're in their dorm...no wait. Fred left his dorm and common room and was standing outside the portrait. Weird.

I went up quietly to see what Fred was doing.

"Fred?"

He smiled. "Doe. I was making sure you weren't caught."

"Out here? Why didn't you check the Map?"

He smiled sheepishly. "We gave it to Harry to sneak into Hogsmeade. His bloody aunt and uncle wouldn't sign his form, and we know something's not right at his house. We rescued him once from his house last year. He had bars on his windows, and I noticed at least four different locks on his door."

"Well, let's go inside. I want to ask you something anyway."

He spoke the password and the Obese Man-lady yawned and swung open, not even noticing I was there. We sat on the couch and I put my head on his shoulder. His arm wrapped around my shoulders and I snuggled into his embrace.

"Does Harry ever talk about his home life?" I asked softly.

"No. But I remember Ron saying that Harry didn't expect any Christmas prezzies first year. He didn't get a present from his aunt and uncle and he stays here every holiday."

"Did he ever talk about the bars on his window?"

"No. He changes the subject. But he gets away with murder around here. He and my brother crashed my dad's flying car into a tree because some barmy house elf blocked the barrier onto the platform. Any normal person would be expelled, but they only got detention."

"Do you...do you think Dumbledore knows and just tries to make up for it by letting him get away with everything?"

"Dunno. He could. You're making me sad, Doe. What did you want to ask me?"

"Oh. Right. Is there a third year here named Peter Pettigrew?"

"I don't think so. What House?"

"Gryffindor."

"No. Why?"

"Well, I saw him on the map in the third year boys dorm and I was just wondering."

"Strange."

"Mmhmm."

I was slowly drifting in and out of consciousness. Fred nudged me a little, but I only moaned.

"Doe? Don't fall asleep on me. 'Andy?"

It was too late.

XXXXXXXXXX

I woke up to someone shaking me.

"What the fuck do you want, Alison? I won't cover for you again," I said tiredly.

"I'm definitely not Alison."

I sat straight up in my bed...couch? Red and gold? What?

"Where the fuck am I?" I asked groggily.

"You've got a dirty mouth in the morning," he mused. He. Fred. I fell asleep...shit!

"Oh, motherfuck, I'm sorry. Shit." I rubbed my eyes.

"You look different without those Glamours," he said. "I like it."

My eyes opened wide. I took a strand of my hair and held it to my face. Brown. Oh fuck. I fumbled for my wand, but Fred grabbed my wrist. He used his other hand to push a stray strand of hair behind my ear. I barely stopped myself from shivering.

"You look beautiful. Why do you change yourself?" he asked curiously.

"You should know by now that women are never satisfied with their looks. Besides, I look more interesting this way." I released my hand from his grasp and reapplied the Glamours. I wiggled my eyebrows and Fred laughed.

"What time is it?" I asked as I stretched out my arms and legs.

"Almost five. You should hurry back to your dorm before they start asking questions."

"Right. Thanks, Maki." I hesitated slightly before making up my mind and kissing his cheek. I held back a blush, but his ears went red as he grinned from ear to ear.

"You're very welcome, Gaya."

I used the map to hurry back to the Slytherin commons. No one was in the common room, and no one seemed to be stirring in their beds yet, so I hurried into my dorm before messing up my bed, showering, and changing at lightening speed. I tugged on my signature Converse. I picked out a random band tee and put my Slytherin blouse over it. Professor McGonagall was getting at me about wearing my tie, so I tugged it through my belt loops and tied it in a knot at my side. I only put on basic eyeliner because I was in a hurry. I tugged on my robes before fiddling with my wand. I needed to talk to my Head of House. So, because he seemed to like me better with the red hair, I applied the Glamour to my hair and face to give me my signature emerald eyes and auburn hair.

"Did you just get in?"

I jumped and turned around. It was Taylor.

"Yeah. Don't say anything, please."

"Sure. Where were you, though?"

"Everywhere."

"No bloody way, Amanda. You can't ask me to cover your arse and not tell me what for."

I sighed and debated whether or not to tell her the truth. I decided I should.

"Scoot over," I whispered and hopped into her bed. "Close the curtains." We did, and I cast a Silencing Charm around the bed.

"So?" she asked.

"Okay, okay. I went to the Gryffindor commons to ask Fred Weasley a question." I could not hide the darkening of my cheeks, and Taylor giggled.

"I suppose he's cute in an overly Gryffindor-ish way."

"Shh. So, I went to ask him a question and instead, I fell asleep on him."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up in mischief. "What happened next?"

"I woke up and thought Alison wanted me to cover for her, but I heard a manly voice and figured out I was still with the Gryffs. He said I looked different without my Glamours and said I have a dirty mouth in the morning. We talked a little and he told me to go back to my dorms so no one would notice and I kissed him on the cheek and left."

"I thought you had to be Gryffindor to be brave," she whistled. I nudged her a little before excusing myself to the Great Hall.

As I ate, I watched the Head Table for Snape. I needed to ask someone about Peter, and since I was apprenticing under him as well as being sorted to his House, I figured I should ask him. When he entered, I finished my food and stared at him, trying to catch his eye. I remembered that he once said he was a Legilimens, so as he caught my eye, I started thinking, _I need to talk to you. I need to talk to you. I need to talk to you. In your classroom when you're done eating._ I saw him nod a little so I excused myself to wait in his classroom.

I fiddled a bit with my wandless while I was waiting for him, but once I heard the door open. I dropped the quill I was levitating.

"Sup, Professor."

"Indeed. What is it you need to speak to me about?"

I pulled out the Map and explained how it worked. Snape looked like he swallowed a whole lemon when he saw the front, but admitted it was an impressive piece of magic.

"This is only a copy, but I saw someone in the boys dorm and I asked Fred and he says he doesn't know anyone by that name. I figured I should go to you and you would tell Dumbles if you think we should."

"Very well. Who was it?"

"Peter Pettigrew."

Snape went pale and narrowed his eyes at the Map. "Impossible."

"You know I wouldn't lie about this, Professor."

"The map is wrong."

"It doesn't lie! Look," I said, searching the Map Peter. I found him in the Gryffindor boys dorm, third year. "Look. There he is, where I saw him last night. He's moving really fast. Do you know him? How do you know him?"

"He went to school with me," he whispered. "He died twelve years ago." He looked up sharply at me. "Don't tell anyone about this. I'll handle it."

"Professor," I started seriously, "should I be worried?"

"Don't dwell on it, Li—Amanda," he said, glancing at my face.

XXXXXXXXXX

Of course, I couldn't let it go. A dead person is running around the boys' dorm and I know the ghosts aren't allowed.

As Fred, George and I planned a prank, my eyes drifted to Ron and Harry. They got up, laughing about their homework, and I decided to talk to them and maybe get access to the dorm.

"Hey, guys. What's so funny?"

"Divination," said Ron. "Dream Diaries. If your dream isn't of you dying and suffering or someone else dying and suffering, the professor thinks we haven't really dreamed it. She's a bloody fraud, but it's fun to figure new ways to die. We've almost exhausted them all."

They walked up to their dorm and I followed. "So how are you dying tonight?"

"I'm not. I drowned Snape in his cauldron," said Harry. We laughed as they entered their dorm. I sat on Ron's bed.

"I was playing Quidditch. She won't like it unless I fall, but I don't want to die tonight."

I squeaked. A rat scuttled over me.

"What is _that_?" I asked.

"My rat, Scabbers," said Ron. There was never a rat on the map. Only...Peter.

"Oh, he's so adorable," I said, stroking his back. "Can I hold him?"

Ron shrugged, but looked at me sideways. "When you squeaked I figured you didn't like him."

"Oh, no. I was just surprised." I picked him up and stroked him. "Scabbers, is it?"

"Yeah."

"Harry, could I borrow the Map for a quick second? I want to talk to Dumbles about visiting home and I want to know where he is."

Harry did not look shocked that I knew about the Map, ao dug through his trunk and handed it to me. I whipped out my wand and mumbled the code words.

First, I saw me, with Ron and Harry in the boys' dorm. Then, I saw a little _Peter E. Pettigrew_ very close to me. I held the rat out in front of me and saw Peter on the map move too. I knew it!

I quickly checked and saw Dumbles in his office, and handed the map back to Harry.

"He's in his office, but I need to talk to Snape about our lesson real quick. Ron, do you mind if I hold on to Scabbers for a little while. He's so cute!" I exclaimed.

Ron looked taken aback but he nodded slowly.

I walked quickly to Snape's office, hiding Peter in my robes. I had to know.

"Professor?" I called as I walked in. He stood up from behind his desk.

"Yes, Amanda?" he snarled.

"Tell me about Peter."

Surprisingly, he did after a little persuasion. He talked about how Peter was murdered by Sirius Black, who told You-Know-Who where to find the Potter's. All that was left of Peter was his finger. Black blew up the street, killing Peter and countless Muggles.

"Professor, is there any way to identify an animal as an Animagus?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Yes, there is. A simple spell. Glows red around an Animagus but does nothing to a regular animal. Why do you ask?"

"I think I found him," I whispered. Snape's eyes widened.

"Why are you whispering?"

"He's in my robes. Ron Weasley's rat was showing up on the Map as Peter. Which means Black is innocent." I pulled out "Scabbers" and immobilized him. I handed him to Snape, who eyed it carefully.

"I'll make sure this gets taken care of."

I nodded and thanked him quickly. He looked on the verge of blowing up a cauldron, so I left as quickly as possible.

XXXXXXXXXX

We had a reserve Quidditch team practice today. It had been almost a month since I gave Peter to Snape, and still, no word. I didn't ask during our lessons, but even with my auburn hair, he seemed distant and distracted.

Oliver, Cedric, Roger, and Marcus actually got along pretty well during the Quidditch try-outs. They were fair and disagreed on no major points.

From Gryffindor, we had a Beater and a Reserve Beater: Andrew Kirke and Jimmy Peakes. We also got two Chasers: Dean Thomas and Ginny Weasley. For a second year, she was surprisingly good. Later she told me she stole her brothers' brooms when she could and taught herself how to fly. From Hufflepuff, we had another Beater: Michael McMagnus. From Ravenclaw, our last Chaser was George Chambers and Reserve Chaser Adam Bradley. From Slytherin we got our Seeker: Jason Harper. He was really good, but really quiet. Ginny would be the Reserve Seeker, since she was also a fair flyer. I was the new Keeper with Cormac McLaggen, the most annoying flirt known to mankind, as the Reserve. I was also the Captain, somehow.

"Listen up, team!" I called out. Everyone quieted immediately. "This is a Reserve Team. We won't all get to play together, and we might even play against our own Houses. If we want to do this again next year, we will have to play fair. No fouling! Now, Chasers will gang up on McLaggen and try to get the Quaffle through the hoops. Chasers get two Quaffles instead of one. Cormac, be on your game. Beaters, don't practice with Bludgers yet. I have two balls that Hooch has enchanted to act like a Bludger, but they're soft. Kirke and McMagnus, try to hit the practice Bludgers at our Seeker, and Peakes, you have to block them as much as you can. Any questions? No? Well get in the air, then!"

I hovered around them, making sure there were no major disagreements. McLaggen was a fair Keeper, but easily distracted and overly confidant. Once Ginny threw the Quaffle, I muttered a charm to give it a bit of extra speed and power. It slipped through McLaggen's fingers and into the goal.

"Pay attention, McLaggen. Don't underestimate your opponents, no matter their age, sex, or size. Good shot, Weasley." She ducked her head modestly but resumed the game.

I hovered towards to Beaters. Peakes was sweating, but none of the practice Bludgers had hit Harper. Kirke and McMagnus looked determined, and a little cocky, so I switched McMagnus out with Peakes. I noticed immediately that Kirke and Peakes worked much better as a team than Kirke and McMagnus. I immobilized the practice Bludgers and flew closer to the confused Beaters.

"Kirke. Peakes. You both communicate better as a team. But, Peakes, you are the Reserve. Kirke and McMagnus have to work together like you two do. Work with him on that. Harper, fly with me."

The Beaters worked on fine tuning their communication skills while Harper and I took a few lazy laps around the pitch.

"You're good, Harper. Really good."

"Thanks."

"You just need to get a better strategy. Faking out other Seekers, and maybe even the crowd. If you circle the pitch in a random pattern, pull off a couple feints, you'll be able to see the whole pitch and find the Snitch even faster. What's your current strategy?"

He shrugged. "I watch the other Seekers and mark them while looking for the Snitch a bit on my own."

"Good. If you play, people will be expecting that, so the first few feints will throw them off. You've got a good eye from what I see. You can change up your strategy every few games, too. That's what makes a good Seeker."

He smiled. "Thanks, Bennett."

"What's with all the last names here? You can just call me Amanda. Or Ben, if it makes you feel any better."

"Thanks, Ben," he said smartly. I rolled my eyes and tossed him a Practice Snitch and told him to go practice.

"Hey, Captain!" I rolled my eyes. I hated that. I turned to see McLaggen waving me over. I saw Dean holding Ginny up, Ginny barely stable on her broom. I barely had time to snap, "Don't call me that!" before I raced over, telling everyone to stop what they were doing.

"What did you do?" I asked, supporting Ginny's other side.

"Nothing. I swear!" said McLaggen. I narrowed my eyes at him and looked to Dean for an explanation.

"I was helping Bradley with a few techniques. I had my back turned," he said shrugging.

"Ginny?" I asked softly. She groaned. "What happened?"

"Hospital wing," she said weakly.

"Practice is over!" I called. "Hit the showers!"

"See you later, Captain!" I heard a few call.

"Don't call me that!" I snapped, trying to navigate both myself and Ginny to the ground. Dean was being surprisingly unhelpful.

"Sorry, Ben!" I heard Harper call, and few snickers follow.

We went to the Hospital Wing. Turns out, Gin had a couple cracked ribs. I asked her quietly what happened, and she told me that McLaggen lobbed the Quaffle at her close range. I was livid, but not as angry as Fred, George, Ron, and surprisingly, Percy, were. They all scowled at the floor when Ginny told them.

I went off to find McGonagall and told her, respectfully, what had happened. She narrowed her eyes when I asked McLaggen be suspended from playing Quidditch, but that he still be allowed to watch practices so he didn't miss anything. I thanked her for seeing me, and I left quickly, afraid to be burned alive by her stare.

I sat with Ginny at dinner, who had escaped the Hospital Wing to have dinner with her brothers. I helped her escape when she said she didn't want her brothers to get in trouble by hurting McLaggen. I made sure that at dinner, she had enough support on her side and she didn't seem like she was in too much pain.

Fred and George gave me a look and I made a mental note to talk to them after dinner. First, I escorted Ginny back up the the infirmary before heading towards the kitchens. Fred and George met me there.

"Prank on McLaggen?" I asked, tickling the pear. The handle appeared and I opened the door. The elves were very accommodating and once we assured them that if we had another piece of pie, we would explode, we got to work on the prank.

"Well, McLaggen thinks he's Merlin's gift to women, the git. We'll take credit for this one, since we haven't done a prank as us in a while," snarled George.

"Don't mention me; I'm the captain and I'm supposed to be impartial. But I have an idea..."

XXXXXXXXXX

The next day, Cormac McLaggen was surprisingly absent from class. We had another practice today, so I forced Fred and George to retrieve him. They returned, smiles on their faces, with a heavily cloaked Reserve Keeper.

"McLaggen! Take that off; you won't be able to see."

Feminine fingers reached shakily for the hood of the cloak before it fell from his head. Her head, I should say.

The spells weren't as hard as I thought they would be. It was the Glamour Preventor Charm that was the hardest, to stop him from trying to cover this up. It took a fair bit of energy, and I had to weave it into the temporary sex change charm.

The team choked back uncontrollable giggles as I laughed outright at his appearance.

"Alright. I guess you've learned your lesson, McLaggen. Don't mess with a Weasley; they have brothers."

_A/n: Bah-dah bah bah bah, I'm lovin' it. Reviews are NECESSARY._


	4. Chapter 4

**Up To No Good**

_Chapter 4_

Professor Severus Snape was, as his apprentice would say, in a pickle. He was very conflicted. Peter Pettigrew had been found. He was currently sitting on his desk in Animagus form, immobilized. Which meant...Sirius Black was innocent.

Severus had always hated Sirius and his hatred was returned ten-fold. Sirius had all he could ever want; money, friends, a non-abusive family. Severus had lived in poverty and fear of his father. His mother, Eileen Prince, had tried to protect him, but she wouldn't do anything to hurt her husband. No matter how much Tobias beat her, she still loved him.

Lily Evans had been Severus' first friend. His best friend. His first love. However, in Slytherin, it was difficult to hold his own. He had picked up some mannerisms that he first thought were harmless, but ended up driving his friend away. Severus tried to apologize to Lily, but his comment drove her into the arms of his enemy's best friend. James Potter. Oh, he hated James Potter. Loathed him, even. But it was more because he got the girl. Severus hated Sirius Black's personality and overall character. Sirius Black was enemy number one, followed closely by James Potter. He and his prankster friend tormented him, acted like they owned the school. They were bullies. Gryffindors believed all Slytherins were evil when, in fact, they were bullied by the 'brave, kind-hearted' Gryffindors. The prejudice ran deep and no one attempted to quell the rumors. Namely, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Oh, he knew about the bullying, but he never stopped it. That's probably why Severus was so hard on the Gryffindors. They bullied him; he was only bullying them back.

Severus hated Sirius; that much was plain. However, he never wanted Sirius dead or mortally wounded. He hated Sirius from a distance. Sirius, however, returned that hatred up close and personal. He tried to kill Severus.

Sirius wasn't expelled, but given detentions. Not like he never got any before. It was Severus who was spoken to by the Headmaster with disdain, like a common criminal. He was sworn to secrecy about Lupin's condition. He was angry for a long time.

When he found out that Sirius betrayed the Potter's, his hatred increased. Sirius killed the woman he loved. He deserved every year in Azkaban. Sirius deserved prison for his attempt to murder Severus. He deserved everything he got.

Or that was what he thought. However, Sirius Orion Black was serving a life sentence in a prison for evil and murderers. No wonder he escaped; he had spent twelve years in a prison that could cause insanity and literally rip the happiness away from you. Only the darkest of people belonged there. And Sirius Black did not fit that category.

He could just kill the rat now and let Sirius be on the run for the rest of his life. He tried to tell himself that Sirius deserved it, but it was a hard sell. He had already spent twelve years in prison, probably blaming himself for the death of his friends, blaming himself for not apprehending Peter. He had spent enough time in misery.

Severus stood, grabbing the rat and a bottle of Veritaserum from his private stores. He Floo-ed to the Headmaster's office, requesting the Minister be present for this.

Sirius deserved two of those years for the attempted murder. He was ten years overdue for a Ministry pardon.

* * *

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore had never felt this old and defeated. When Severus Snape marched into his office with a bottle of Veritaserum, demanding an audience with the Minister of Magic about Sirius Black, he had feared the worst. Sirius Black was necessary to help mold Harry into the Warrior of the Light he must become. If Sirius was captured, he would be given the Kiss, and Harry would never know the truth and be cautious of the Ministry. But, if Sirius was caught and given Veritaserum, he could divulge the truth, and Harry would be removed from his relatives, and the blood wards protecting him would be void.

The Minister of Magic stepped through the Floo with Amelia Bones, part of the Wizengamot, and Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office. They were seated and they waited for Severus to reveal his information.

Another chair appeared, and a rat was placed on it. Severus asked Rufus to perform the Animagus Revealing Spell. Rufus looked confused but did as he was asked. The rat glowed red.

Albus Dumbledore eyes widened slightly, but did not show any other indication of his surprise. Damnation. Peter had been caught.

Peter was forced into his human form and force fed Veritaserum. He confessed everything from being the Secret-Keeper to serving for Lord Voldemort. The Minister of Magic looked ill, and he knew this would tarnish the Ministry's reputation. An innocent man was thrown into prison without a trial. An immediate pardon was in order and reparations would be given to Sirius Black by tomorrow morning. The only necessary thing was to register Sirius Black as an Animagus.

Once his office was empty, Albus sighed and rubbed at his temples. He needed to tell Harry about his godfather and hope that he would choose to stay with his Aunt. Petunia was Lily's sister, and Harry was Lily's son. Surely Harry would yearn for that connection, no matter what went on behind closed doors.

* * *

Harry Potter could not be more confused. The Headmaster had just told him that his godfather, Sirius Black, was not after him. In fact, he was innocent of his crime. What he didn't know, was what the crime was. Dumbledore was trying to skate around it. Eventually, Harry was told everything. Ronald Weasley's rat was an Animagus, a wizard disguised in animal form. The wizard in question was Peter Pettigrew, Secret-Keeper for the Potter's, and their eventual betrayer. Peter Pettigrew had been caught, and his godfather's charges were being absolved.

He could not be happier. He would never have to live with the Dursley's again. He could live with his godfather. He never had to go back to that _place_ again!

"Harry," started the Headmaster. "I must ask you to remain with your Aunt Petunia."

"What?"

"Your godfather has spent over twelve years in prison. He might have lasting effects of his imprisonment."

"You don't know that," said Harry. "He could be fine. I want to live with him. It's not up to you, sir."

"Harry, your Aunt's house protects you—"

"No!" exclaimed Harry. He finally had a chance to get out of that hell hole. There was no way he was giving it up. "It might protect me from everyone outside, but not from the inside. Did you know that my room for the first eleven years of my life was a closet? The cupboard under the stairs, my letters said. To punish me for being 'freaky', my Uncle would lock me in my cupboard for days with no food, no water. Only a bucket to do my business if I needed to. My cousin would beat me, and he was only encouraged to beat the 'freakishness' out of me. The only reason my Uncle didn't beat me himself was that he was afraid my 'freakishness' would transfer to him. My Aunt used to swing at me with frying pans. I learned to duck and run very quickly after I got hit the first few times. I wasn't allowed to eat at the table with them. I had to wait for them to be done, and I would get whatever was left over. Did you ever notice how small I was? I was starved at least twice a week. I remember on my sixth birthday, I had asked if I would get presents like Dudley. Instead, I got the cupboard for a month. They used to slip me stale bread and murky water every six days. And you want me to stay there? No. I won't go back."

"Harry," said Dumbledore. "I didn't know. I apologize. Maybe I can assign a guard to watch over you there and stop your Aunt and Uncle's criminal negligence."

Harry was so shocked, he almost fell over. "Did you listen to a word I said? I will not go back!"

"It's necessary to keep you safe from harm."

"I am harmed. I was harmed. It didn't keep me safe."

"There is protection around that house. As long as you call it home, it will always protect you."

"I never called that place home! It was a house, but never a home. I always thought of Hogwarts as my home."

"As long as your Aunt considered you family, the blood protection would shield you. Only a family member can provide that protection," Dumbledore amended.

"She never considered me family! I was never in a family photo, and she never even considered my mother a part of her family. She kept the fact she had a sister hushed up. No one knew. She didn't consider me family. And I wouldn't go back, even if by some miracle, she did. And there are other kinds wards that can protect me; blood wards aren't the only option!"

"Harry—"

"No! I won't go back to that place ever. Never. You couldn't make me if you tried. You aren't my guardian or my father. Sirius is now. So stop telling me what to do!"

Harry ran out of the Headmaster's office, almost running into a Disillusioned Severus Snape.

Severus was shocked speechless. Harry Potter wasn't arrogant and bullying like his father. If he was raised by his father, maybe, but Dumbledore put Harry with his criminally negligent Aunt, who Severus remember, hated Lily after she discovered her powers.

* * *

Dumbledore took his head into his hands. This was not turning out like he thought it would be. Sure, he knew Petunia wouldn't raise Harry like a prince and he had known something was amiss when Harry return to the Wizarding World terribly undernourished and twitchy. After contacting Petunia and seeing her bitterness firsthand, he had felt terribly guilty. However, it was necessary for Harry to grow up ignorant of his heritage. Harry Potter had to be groomed to represent the Light and this was not at all part of the plan! Now, Harry would be raised by Sirius, and not receive the blood ward protection. He knew Sirius hated his family house, so they would live somewhere else. If he could place monitoring charms around that house, maybe he could gain some insight. However, Harry coming down so hard on him meant only one thing: Harry would not trust him anymore, and that would be a major issue. Dumbledore had been hoping that Harry would see him as the only father figure in his life. Now, because Sirius was back, Remus would help him regain his sanity stolen by the Dementors and all of his plans would be foiled.

Dumbledore shook his head. If only Severus had kept this to himself...

* * *

Severus Snape never felt so wrong in his life. He had taunted Potter about being arrogant and spoiled, just like his father. Instead, he was neglected by his mother's family, and Dumbledore knew and spoiled him at Hogwarts to make up for it. Potter admitted his family was extremely negligent and his room for the first eleven years of his life, something that Severus had only done to his best friend. It must have taken a lot to swallow his pride and use his childhood as a weapon against Albus. It would be difficult to trust the Headmaster now that Severus knew that he had been a party to the negligence in the Dursley household.

Maybe he could be a little easier on the boy...

* * *

When Sirius Black, disguised as Padfoot, saw the morning paper, he thought it was a hoax to lure him out of hiding. However, when he heard the murmuring of the Hogsmeade villagers, he knew it was true.

They had caught Peter, and Sirius was _free_. And everyone knew. His godson...Harry would know. He could live with Harry. James' son. Lily's son.

He could see Remus.

He was more than a little shocked when he read the end of the paper.

_Severus Snape, Potions Master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and captor of the traitor Peter__ Pettigrew, offered an olive branch to Sirius Black. "Though we weren't the best of friends, and even though we tortured each other during our school years, Sirius Black does not deserve twelve years in Azkaban. When I discovered Pettigrew, I had a choice __to make: let my childhood enemy live forever on the run, or let bygones be bygones and let him enjoy the life he's been deprived of. I hope he enjoys his freedom with his godchild."_

Sirius Black got to the Ministry as soon as he could. He had discreetly bought some new clothes and got his hair cut to a more appropriate ear length. He could barely recognize himself. He no longer looked like an escaped convict, but a weary man.

The Minister met with him as soon as he entered the Ministry building. Sirius seemed understanding, but on the inside he was fuming.

"Minister Fudge, I understand that back then were dangerous times. However, would have appreciated a trial, or an interrogation with Veritaserum. If you could add a new law that every criminal is entitled to a trial, I would appreciate it."

"Of course, Mr. Black," scrambled Fudge. "And of course you will be compensated for your twelve years in Azkaban. Is there anything else you want?"

"Guardianship of my godson, Harry Potter."

"Of course. Anything else?"

Sirius thought really hard. What did he love? Harry Potter. Remus Lupin. Quidditch.

"Is there a Quidditch game coming up soon?"

* * *

Remus Lupin could not feel guiltier. His best friend, whom he thought was a traitor, had been framed. His friend whom he mourned as a hero was alive and a betrayer. He was standing next to James' Potter's son, who could attract more danger than his father. Harry looked so much like James, but acted more like Lily. He was innocent but that was waning fast. He had dealt with so much more than a child of thirteen should have to. He acted so much more mature than he should have to.

They were in his office, waiting for Sirius. Harry wanted to meet him, and Remus wanted to apologize.

Remus was unprepared to see Sirius, even though he saw him coming with the Map. Though he was wearing new clothes with a new haircut, he still looked much older. His skin seemed to sink into his face, held up only by bone and some muscle. The strands of gray mixed with the greasy black made him look much older than he was.

"Sirius," Remus breathed, almost too shocked for words.

He smirked. "Looking good, old man."

Sirius was engulfed in a hug as Remus babbled his apologies. "Sirius, I wish...if I had known...you shouldn't have..."

"Moony," Sirius sighed. "Moony, it's okay. I'm fine."

Remus got a hold of himself and released his friend, looking embarrassed. Sirius finally dared to glance at Harry, and Remus could feel the shock pouring from him.

"I look just like my dad," said Harry quietly, running his fingers through his hair. "I have my mum's eyes, though."

"Harry," whispered Sirius, before grabbing his godson in a rough embrace, tears leaking down his face. Remus looked at the scene and realized that Sirius never really got to mourn for James and Lily, too absorbed in finding Peter.

"Sirius," said Harry. Sirius looked up to find Harry's eyes watering. "I know that—that you're my godfather. My Aunt and Uncle, well, they don't like me too much, and I was hoping that—maybe I could..."

"Harry," interrupted Sirius. "You can live with me. The Minister gave me custody of you."

"Oh, thank Merlin," he gasped, pulling his godfather back into his embrace.

Remus felt like he was intruding in a private moment, but he needed to speak with Sirius.

"Harry," said Remus. "Do you mind if Sirius and I take a few minutes to catch up?"

Harry looked back at his godfather before nodding and leaving for his common room.

"Padfoot, I think Harry is downplaying his life at the Dursley's. I don't think he was beaten, but I think you should talk to him about it."

Sirius looked shocked but nodded seriously. "What did you need to talk about, Moony?"

"How are you?" asked Remus.

"Fine. Why?"

"Don't say fine, Sirius. Don't lie to my face."

Sirius ran a hand roughly over his face and through his hair. He was not fine. He was still traumatized, trying to forget his years in Azkaban in vain. So absorbed with finding the traitorous rat, he never really had time for the deaths of Lily and James to sink in.

"Remus," he started. "Lily and James are gone."

Remus's hand came to rest across Sirius's shoulders. "I know."

"Harry is _thirteen_."

"I know."

"I'm not okay." His voice wavered. Remus's hand tightened around his shoulders.

"I know. I'll be here for you, Padfoot."

Sirius wept for all the years he lost, for his godson, for his best friends. Sirius wept, knowing Remus would be there to help him. And Sirius would need all the help he could get.

* * *

_A/n: Love it? Let me know!_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/n: I AM SOOOO SORRY. I have an explanation. I have chapter 6 and 7 written, btu I didn't have this one done and I had such ridiculous writer's block, I had to forget about it and come back. The next two chapters are juicy, I promise. Enjoy!_

* * *

**Up To No Good**

_Chapter 5_

The end of the year was approaching, and Fred, George, and I were studying for the OWLs in the library. They were reading over my Potions notes while I made flashcards for Charms.

"So, have you been doing the visualization for your wandless?" I asked casually.

Fred looked up and nodded. "Yeah. It took us so bloody long to find a tube shape. But, we thought of home. Our mum makes us sweaters with our initials on them. As if we'd forget our own names."

"I think they're more for everyone else than for you."

George snickered and nodded. "Right. Anyway, I kept thinking about the knitting needles she uses to make them, and I could _see_ the magic filling them." Fred nodded in agreement.

"Okay. Are you ready, then?"

"For what?" they asked in unison.

"To use it."

I placed two books in the center of the table. Fred and George closed their eyes and started the process. Once they had the knitting needle of magic, I told them to visualize the book lifting, letting the magic slowly release from the needles to the books. Once they saw it, they mouthed the spell, and each book rose a good five inches off the table before falling back down with a loud thud. They opened their eyes and blinked rapidly, gasping.

"Bloody hell, Andy. How could you do that with normal spells? I'm knackered after this one!"

"Lots and lots of practice. I give you permission to practice first year Charms _only_ over summer vacation. If you try any Transfiguration, I will find out, and it won't be pretty. Got it?"

"But can't the Ministry trace the magic to us?" asked George. "Breaking school rules and getting detention is one thing, but breaking the law and getting our wands snapped is different."

"The Ministry can't trace wandless because they can't hone in on your magical signature. Muggleborns would get in trouble more because there are no other wizards in the house; it has to be them. But, in a wizarding house, they can't tell who does the magic, only that it's done."

"Wicked."

* * *

OWLs were not as difficult as I thought they would be.

That was a bold-faced lie.

Potions, Charms, Runes, and Tranfiguration were the ones I think I did best in. Everything else was anyone's guess; especially Astronomy.

I was dreading the train to King's Cross. I mean, I missed my parents and my Muggle friends, but so many connections were forged during this one year that I felt more at home in England than I could possibly feel in the States.

Fred and George were also sad to see me leave; I told them that International Portkeys were expensive and that I probably wouldn't be able to visit during the summer. They were upset, and I understood; they became my best friends in such a short amount of time.

On the Hogwarts Express, we played Exploding Snap and started to plan the pranks for the beginning of the year, but we were just trying to cover up the fact that we'd be missing each other so much.

I was worrying about Harry. He was a like a distant cousin to me; we didn't really know each other, but we were still family. I was worried about how he was going to adapt to the change in guardianship. I was worried that Sirius might not know about Harry's previous home-life and do something stupid.

I was worried.

When we pulled into the station, Fred and George dragged me to meet his mother. I blushed and acted appropriately shy, and she seemed to accept me as another daughter. I saw my parents on the other side of the platform, and dragged Fred and George to meet them. They were very excited to hear about our pranks and were very happy that I hadn't been expelled.

"We've got to go," I told the Twins reluctantly. "The Portkey leaves in two minutes." I sniffled quietly.

"Is Gaya crying?" asked George.

"Of course not. Gaya does not have tear ducts," scoffed Fred.

I chuckled and shoved them, but quickly hugged them each fiercely. "I'll try to visit soon," I mumbled into Fred's shoulder.

"It's only two months, Andy," Fred soothed. We pulled apart, and I ducked my head, hiding my tears. Fred reached down and tilted my chin up, wiping away my tears. "It'll be over before you know it."

I grabbed onto the dirty boot with a second to spare. I waved as we were whisked away.

* * *

"So how was your year, Doe?" asked my mother as we landed in the house. I smiled brightly.

"Amazing. The Twins are great friends and we had so much fun," I exclaimed. I had a Potion vial hidden in my sweater, and smiled when my mother offered me something to drink.

"Hey, Daddy?" I asked sweetly.

"Yes?" he asked cautiously.

"Do you love me?"

"Yes," he repeated even more cautiously.

"Will you bring my footlocker upstairs?"

"No. It's too heavy. How you can fit all that stuff in there without making it burst, I have no idea. I'll throw out my back."

"It's called magic, Daddy. And if you weren't so decrepit, it wouldn't be so hard."

"Decrepit!" he growled with a smile. "I am not decrepit. I'm 45 years old, and that is not old enough to be decrepit."

"Whoops. You look closer to sixty," I teased. My mom came out with three glasses of coke and teased my father by agreeing with me. While they were doing that, I poured the potion into their drinks. I made sure I had the antidote in my pocket for when they realized.

We each took a drink, and the potion immediately started to work.

I love Babbling Beverage.

My parents were laughing hysterically at each other as they couldn't speak anything but gibberish. I succumbed to the hysteria and did eventually give them the antidote.

"Whoo, that was fun! What's that one called?" my father asked with a grin.

"Babbling Beverage. Makes you speak gibberish."

"Magic is so cool," my mother sighed wistfully. "I prefer the Gibberish Juice to the green thing you did to my pie last year."

I grinned. "Hey, that was classic!"

My father scoffed. "She wouldn't even let us eat it, and you know how I love pumpkin pie."

I made a face. "That pie deserves to be green. It's nasty, Daddy."

I smiled happily as my family jabbered on, but I knew this was just the calm before the storm.

Hearing the phone ring, I decided to get it. "Hello?"

"Mandy?" I grimaced.

"Alex, how are you?" I said politely, actually wanting to leave the conversation.

"I'm okay. How was your year at that posh boarding school?" she said snidely.

"What do you mean? Alex, I was going to boarding school in Salem and you didn't mind. What's wrong?"

"Are you too good for us now that you're in a British school?"

"I never said that! What the hell?"

"Don't talk to me."

"_You _called _me_, Alex. And that's fine with me." With that, I hung up rather hard. "I'm going to my room," I called to my parents. I used my wandless to levitate all my stuff up the stairs and slammed the door. I turned, expecting to see the cold and dark Slytherin dorm, but was met with the cool blue I had chosen at 13.

This didn't feel like home anymore.

* * *

I was rather quiet for the rest of the day. My parents looked like they wanted to say something, but didn't want to disturb the peace.

They never used to be like that. My parents, I mean. The second they saw something out of sorts with me, they immediately tried to fix it. Something happened to our relationship while I was gone, and it wasn't good.

At dinner, I tried to engage in conversation, but found I had nothing to say. I had been in England for a year, and didn't know what had happened since I was gone. I had nothing to relate to, nothing to joke about.

Nothing to say.

I went on my computer that night, the one thing I had actually really missed from my own home, and started e-mailing my friends to see if they were available to go shopping or something inane and not thought-inducing. Like a stupid movie.

Three people outright refused, but I knew that was going to happen; they were more Alex's friends then mine.

I had made plans with my best Muggle friend, Sarah, to go shopping on Wednesday. I was not as happy as I should be, thinking about my future plans. Sarah was nice, sure, but I missed the hilarity of Gred and Forge so immensely that at two in the morning, I snuck downstairs, grabbed some Floo powder and Flooed the Burrow.

I stuck my head in the fire and saw no one. But I heard some activity in the other room.

"Hello?"

Something fell before I saw Mrs. Weasley stoop down so she could see me.

"Oh, hello Amanda, dear. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Are Fred and George up?"

"Not yet…"

"Pull on George's left ear and poke Fred in the foot. That should get them up. Please?"

She nodded and I sat, waiting, before I realized I had nothing to say to them. Why was I calling them? I missed them.

I heard a stampede in the stairs before two grouchy teenage boys sat down in front of the fire.

"Gaya? Why are you calling so early?" asked George while he rubbed his eyes.

"I…" I started, but couldn't finish. "I missed you guys."

"Already?" asked Fred. He elbowed his brother. "Knew she couldn't live without us. Barely even a day, it's been."

"We missed you, too, Doe," said George quietly. "But we would've picked an appropriate hour in the morning to tell you. Around tea time, maybe."

We all laughed, and my heart ached. "Look, I Floo again later. Maybe I can get my parents to let me Portkey there."

"The Floo's already open, why don't you step through?" asked Fred sleepily.

"Can't. I'll can only Floo like this. If I try to put my entire body in here, an arm or a leg will end up in someone else's fireplace. It's really late, so I should try to get some sleep."

"We miss you, Andy," said Fred quietly. "We'll see you soon." With that, I pulled my head out of the fire, went to bed, and imagined I was back at Hogwarts in my dorm.

* * *

A/n: I know I don't deserve it, but please review. Please?


	6. Chapter 6

**Up To No Good**

_Chapter 6_

"Harry!"

"Sirius, please! I'm not hungry!"

Sirius Black was sitting across from his godson, Harry Potter. It was the first week of July already; Harry and Sirius had only been living together for a week.

Sirius had bought a new house that was Unplottable and had such strong wards, Harry was afraid to bring his friends over.

Dumbledore had not been keyed into the wards, though he had expressed desire to check in on Harry and Sirius. Harry didn't trust the old coot, and neither did his godfather.

Sirius Black was having a tough time adjusting. Yesterday, he was woken by Harry shaking him because he was screaming in his sleep. It happened two other times before Sirius put a Silencing Charm around his bed. He had already called Harry James twice, and when he woke up this morning, he forgot where he was and had curled up in the corner of his room. Harry had to coax him out; after giving Sirius some tea, he had Floo called Remus to help the shaking man recover. This had been the third time Harry had found him like that.

A lot happened so far.

However, at this moment in time, Sirius was trying to get Harry to eat. He hadn't had breakfast, and only a half of a cheese sandwich and a tall glass of milk for lunch. It was currently supper and Harry had barely made a dent in his bangers and mash.

"Hermione said it was your favorite. I made it just for you. Please, Harry."

"Sirius, if I eat anymore I'm going to get sick." Harry was not used to being provided food over the summer. He was not at all kidding when he said this; his stomach was unused to so much food and would surely reject it.

"Eat the rest of your mash, at least."

"I can't, Sirius!"

"Why the bloody hell not?"

Harry stood angrily, shoving his plate across the table. "I'm. Not. Hungry," he said sharply before marching up the stairs and slamming the door to his room.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair before drifting towards the fireplace to call Remus. He dumped the powder into the fireplace and stuck his head inside.

"Moony? Could you step through?"

Remus stuck his head out from his kitchen door. "Harry?"

Sirius nodded and stepped back, letting his friend step through.

* * *

"He's barely eaten anything and he yells at me!" exclaimed Sirius. "I don't know what I've done, but he has to be hungry."

Remus pondered upon this information, choosing his words carefully. "Maybe he's not accustomed to eating so much."

"There's plenty of food at Hogwarts, Moony."

"I wasn't talking about Hogwarts."

The color drained from Sirius's face. He closed his eyes tightly and clamped his hands over his ears. "No."

"Sirius—"

"No! He'd of told me. No, no, no!" Sirius was shaking, curling up on himself. Remus recognized what was going on and sighed sadly.

Remus moved to sit next to Sirius and removed his best friend's hands from his ears. "Sirius, look at me." Sirius looked up. "You are not in that place. You're here, in your house. With me. Harry needs you to talk to him. If it's too much for you, I'll be there. But you are not in that place. You are never going back. Okay?"

Sirius nodded miserably, sitting up straighter. "Now?"

"Now," Remus agreed.

They went up the stairs and knocked on Harry's door. "Harry? I'm coming in," announced Sirius.

Harry was lying on his bed, looking through his photo album. "Hullo, Remus. Sirius," he said dully, not looking up.

"Sit up, please," Sirius asked quietly. Remus stood by the door while Sirius sat next to Harry. "Why can't you eat so much?"

Harry tensed up and looked down at the album. Sirius closed it gently. "Harry? You know you can tell me anything and I'll still love you."

"The Dursley's never really liked me," Harry started slowly. "Once I started doing accidental magic, I would be punished by being sent to my cupboard for days with no meals."

"Your cupboard?" Sirius asked softly, trying not to show the anger he felt boiling inside of him.

"That...that was my room until I got my letter. They got scared when the address on the envelope said my room, so they moved me to Dudley's second bedroom."

"Did you still get sent to your cupboard after you came home from Hogwarts?"

"No. They locked all my school things in there so I couldn't do any summer work. But in the summer before my second year, they put all these locks on my door and bars on my window, and a cat flap on my door for food. Sometimes they forgot to feed me."

Sirius took a deep breath, reigning in his anger. Remus spoke up. "I can do some research, but I'm sure there are potions to get you up to date on the nutrients you're supposed to have. For now, you should stick with soups and liquids to get your stomach used to all the food before you start eating solids again."

Sirius took Harry in a rough embrace, tears leaking down his face, apologizing to Lily and James as he looked down on their unnaturally thin and small son.

* * *

"Andy!"

I turned quickly towards the fireplace to see a redhead amidst the green flames.

"Fred! What's going on?"

"Sit down; you're hurting my neck."

"Fred! Tell me; I'm leaving soon!" I exclaimed, popping down in front of him.

"We're going to the World Cup!"

"WHAT?"

"Well, my family got tickets, and Sirius Black, Harry's godfather, has an extra and we thought of you! You're going!"

I screamed and jumped up, dancing and hopping. "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!"

"So, you have to Portkey over on the 22nd. We'll be taking a Portkey to the grounds in England somewhere."

"I thought it was going to be in Ireland or Bulgaria, seeing as those are the teams that are playing."

"Our stadium is bigger. So are you coming?"

"Of course! Wild hippogryffs couldn't stop me. Who will you be rooting for?"

"My family's for Ireland. You?"

"I guess I'll be the devil's advocate and root for Bulgaria. Plus, Krum is hot and not that much older than me."

Fred scowled. I laughed.

"Now get out of here; my Muggle friends are coming over and if they see a head in the fireplace, the police will be on my doorstep before you can say 'Go Ireland'."

* * *

It was the morning of the 22nd of August; the best day in my entire life. I was going to a World Cup. I was up way too early than anyone should be up. I was showered, dressed, packed and ready to go.

It was two o'clock in the morning.

Thankfully, the time passed quickly and I left a note for my parents, reminding them where I was, before grabbing a handful of powder off the mantle, stepping into the fireplace and calling out my destination; the Federal Transportation Services. From there, I got an International Portkey to the Ministry, where Arthur Weasley would pick me up.

We all met up with Cedric and his father before taking a Portkey with them, the Weasley's, Hermione, and Harry.

I stayed close to Fred and George, laughing at all the obvious wizards in Muggle clothing. How the Statute of Secrecy has been upheld with the abundant ignorance of wizards escapes me.

"Andy, come check out the tent!" exclaimed Fred, and I followed the butterflies.

I stepped in behind the Twins to find a magically enhanced tent. I went to explore with George while Fred pulled a minor prank on Ron.

"So, what goes on, George?" I asked as we peaked out heads into a room. Bedroom.

"Fred and I are thinking about starting a joke shop."

I stopped him and beamed. "That's amazing! But we're going to need to start working on that now with products and all that stuff. You know how I am with Potions and Charms, so if you need any help, let me know."

George smiled brightly as we poked our heads into a different room. Bathroom. "That would be brilliant. Thanks, Doe. So, what's going on with you?"

I sighed sadly, dumping my stuff off in a room with three single beds and throwing myself onto one of them. "My parents."

"What's wrong?"

"We're drifting apart. They don't understand this world and I don't belong in the Muggle one anymore. I mean, if I lost all my magic, I would be devastated, but I'd have options. But I don't _want_ to be there in the summer. This is my home. The magical world is where I feel at home. But my parents try to understand, and I don't think I could last very long without them. They're giving me stricter rules and curfews, like they're trying to reinforce their roles as parents. Like they're afraid I'll run away. I'm afraid they'll make me choose, and I'm afraid I'll lose them. Hogwarts and England feels more at home to me than America. Do you get it, a little?"

"Doe, they're your parents, and you only see them for holidays and summer vacation. They want to bond with you like they used to, but you've become so immersed into the magical world that they can't understand why you can't relate. Unless they've undergone tedious bullying, most Muggle-borns can't relate to their parents after the introduction to the magical world. It's not uncommon, but it's not easily remedied. Spend quality time with your parents. Don't lie to them to make them ignorant. They need to understand how much this world means to you."

"Wow, Georgie. When did you start reading dictionaries?"

* * *

OH MY GOD THE QUIDDITCH GAME WAS AMAZING. IRELAND HAD A MUCH BETTER TEAM, BUT KRUM CAUGHT THE SNITCH AND IRELAND _STILL_ WON. I LOST TEN GALLEONS TO THE TWINS, BUT IT WAS WORTH IT. I GOT TO SEE A FUCKING QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP!

We were goofing off inside the tent when Mr. Weasley came in looking pale.

"Everyone, get up. Grab your wands. Go into the woods. Fred, George, look after Ginny. Go now!"

"I can't find my wand," whispered Harry.

I grabbed his hand, handing him my wand. "Stick with me and the twins, alright?"

I dragged Harry along, following the determined faces of Fred and George and a terrified Ginny.

"Harry, grab Ginny's hand, and don't let go, okay? Follow us, and if you lose us, don't look for us. Run straight into the woods until we find you."

I ran up behind Fred and George, grabbing Fred's hand. He looked up, and gave me a faint smile.

"Have you guys been practicing your wandless?" I whispered.

"A little," responded George.

"Good. You can add a little extra power to your spells by doing it wandlessly and with a wand, too."

I froze suddenly in horror. Black cloaked figures with horrible masks were levitating Muggles into the air, toying with them. When I saw the Muggles, all I could see were my parents. I started to move towards them, when I felt a little hand around my wrist. I turned and saw Ginny.

"Amanda, don't go."

"Can't you see what's happening? And what did I tell you, Harry! Go. In. To. The. Woods."

"Doe, come on. You can't help them. They're Death Eaters."

"I have to try, George!"

"I'm sorry, Andy."

I felt two sets of arms latching onto mine and pulling me back. I screamed and kicked and begged for them to let me go, but they wouldn't until we were deep in the woods.

"What's wrong with you?" I exploded.

"Do you know what Death Eaters are?" asked George.

"No, but they sound like pussies."

"They're You-Know-Who's followers. They know every dark magic spell and aren't afraid to use them. They're way beyond your level. Don't you see?"

"I…I know. But, I don't think you understand. I'm a Muggle-born. They're Muggles. I had to _try_."

"The Death Eaters don't see a difference between you and Muggles. You're an anomaly. You don't deserve your magic," Fred exclaimed.

I sighed and looked around. "Where's Harry and Ginny?"

They both paled. "Bloody hell!"

"Give me your wand for a second." Fred handed me his wand and I placed it in the palm of my hand.

"_Point me _Harry Potter."

It whirled around it my hand, before stopping, pointing northwest.

We ran in that direction until we found them. The Twins hugged Ginny, and I had just taken my wand back from Harry when I saw a stunner heading towards us. Without thinking, I threw up the strongest shield spell I knew, powered by a little bit a wandless. The spell bounced harmlessly off the shield. Fred, George, and I stood back to back, Harry and Ginny between our backs to shield them.

Ministry officials swarmed around us, accusing us of throwing up the Dark Mark. I looked up and became nauseated at the floating green skull.

"I'm a Muggle-born, you idiots," I snapped. "And these are the Weasley's and _Harry Potter_. You've gotta be shitting me, right?"

"Wha's a bloomin' American doin' 'ere?"

"I was invited, asshole."

They starting searching the grounds and found the wand that had performed the Dark Mark. The problem was that it was Harry's. He spoke up, and I almost hit him. I took up explaining when he started to stutter.

"He lost it before the game ended," I said quickly before anyone could accuse him. "We were looking for it when we heard the screams and ran."

When they found the poor elf that had "used" the wand, I could have rolled my eyes. Don't they know _anything_? House-elf magic isn't compatible with wands. This place is being run by the epitome of moron.

The Weasley's found us and after triple checking that we had no scratches, scrapes, or contusions, gave us a Portkey back to the Burrow. I said my goodbyes and Portkeyed home.

"How was the game, sweetie?" asked my mom.

"It was amazing," I said as my eyes lit up. "Ireland had a much better team, so when Bulgaria caught the snitch, Ireland still won. It was epic." My eyes darkened as I thought about what happened after the game. "I need to talk to you and Dad. Is he home?"

"Yes, hold on."

My father came down the stairs and sat with my mother, waiting for an explanation.

"In the magical world, you guys are Muggles; people without magic. I'm a Muggle-born, someone who is born to two Muggles but somehow gets magical powers. Now, the purebloods, people born to two full blooded magical parents, think that Muggleborns are inferior because their magic is genetic and mine isn't."

"We know this already, honey. What's really wrong?" Mom asked. I sighed.

"There's this evil guy named Voldemort that started killing Muggleborns like me back in the seventies. My friend, Harry, defeated him when he was a baby and no one knows how. Voldemort had followers called Death Eaters. At the World Cup, the Death Eaters came and terrorized some Muggles. They don't see Muggles as people, only as animals, and I'm the same to them. It's only going to get worse. I just…I don't want to lie to you. I love you."

They said nothing for what seemed like hours before they spoke. "This is a lot to take in, Doe," said Dad. "I don't know what you want us to say."

"I feel like we're drifting apart, and I want to include you in my life as much as I can."

"Honey, if England is really that dangerous, maybe you shouldn't go to school there," Mom said softy. My dad nodded in agreement.

"You can't be serious! My life is there! My friends are there! You can't just expect me to leave! Where will I get my education?"

They glanced at each other. "There's this school in Texas that we could send you to. We didn't before because it was a little expensive, but if it's your safety on the line, then we're willing to send you there."

"I won't go!"

"You will! You are not eighteen, and while you're living under our roof, you'll listen to our rules! You are going to Texas by the end of this week and that's final!" My dad yelled, his quick temper flaring.

"Then I'll run away."

"Then don't come back."

I marched up the stairs, tears flowing freely down my face, to pack. If they couldn't accept my decision, fine. Hogwarts was my home now, and the Weasley's were my family.

I walked out the front door with a whispered, "I love you."

I couldn't stand to hear my mother cry.

* * *

_A/n: I told you this one was done. The next one will be Fred/Amanda fluff xD_


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